The Science of Magic
by Raconteur86
Summary: My first published story. Loki/OC. Inkeri, a young Asgardian scientist and healer meets her match with Loki. Can she help save him before it is too late? A/U Set before, during, after the events of the first Thor movie. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1-

Prologue

"Mother! I do not wish to go and you cannot make me. I will do what I please."

Asta looked up from her needlework to observe her daughter. Her arms were crossed and her chin stuck out in defiance. Her warm green eyes glimmered with indignation.

"Inkeri," Asta responded calmly, "You know it is required for a nobleman's family to pay tribute to the royal family once a year during the summer celebrations. You used to be excited to attend."

Inkeri rolled her eyes and flung her long, dark auburn braid behind her back. "Who cares about any of them? If they were humble rulers, and therefore good people, they would not require us to pay tribute. So in essence we are being forced to pay homage to an unfair and unjust ruling society. Perhaps we should petition for a democracy. Besides, I'm working on a very important experiment."

Inkeri smiled as if her argument had clenched the deal that she was not going.

Asta sighed. Inkeri was just like her father- constantly debating everything. "Darling, I doubt you really care about our government more than you care about your magic and science classes. And besides, it isn't right of you to speak of the King and Queen in such away. Queen Frigga adores you, she keeps mentioning to me that she wishes to enroll you in the Royal Academy of Sciences as soon as you enter the years of adolescence." Asta wagged her finger at Inkeri, "Perhaps I shall tell the queen what you think of her and then we will see what happens with your schooling."

Her smile dropped immediately and she knew that she had been beat. She scoffed and stomped out of the room hearing her mother call out after her, "Wear your green tunic darling! It always complements your eyes the best. We will leave at midday."

She groaned and stepped into her room, back to her experiments. She had to admit that she would be glad to get into the Royal Academy of Sciences one day, as it was lonely having to learn by herself. She was an only child, a "miracle child", her mother always called her. Her mother and father had tried for years after she was born to have more children, but to no avail.

She walked quickly to her windowsill. On it were various types of Asgardian plants in all shapes and sizes. Two of them she had been focusing on especially for the past week. One was about to bloom into a large orange flower with small, intricate petals- her favorite. She took a deep breath and touched the bloom. Perhaps she could speed it along. Concentrating deeply, she closed her eyes and imagined the surface of the flower. Next she thought about the cellular structure beneath the surface. She swallowed and carefully went even deeper imagining the molecules that held the entire thing together. Smiling, she saw them clearly, and carefully began to shift and move them around. Slowly she opened her eyes and gasped. The flower had opened, however instead of being its normal vibrant orange, it had turned a shocking purple.

"Intriguing," she whispered. She must have accidentally tampered with its pigment structure and not realized it. She ran and grabbed her pad and pencil to document it when she realized someone had been standing in her doorway the entire time.

"Father!" she yelled and ran to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Geir laughed and embraced her, lifting her off the ground.

"Father," she wiggled out of his arms and pulled him running toward the windowsill. "Look."

Geir picked up the purple dahlia-like flower and pondered it for a second with raised eyebrows.

"How did you do it?" He asked, clearly amazed.

Inkeri beamed and answered, "I was actually just trying to make it bloom, and the color pigmentation was an accident. Father, I could see the atoms, as I moved them with my mind. It was as clear as day!"

"Well," Geir said setting the plant down carefully, "It seems as if you'll be a great sorceress someday."

Inkeri wrinkled her nose at the mention of the word sorceress. It was reminder to her that no matter how advanced her people could be, a part of them would always be stuck in the past.

"No father, I will be a great scientist." She began to quote her science textbooks, one finger held seriously in the air. " 'Magical ability is nothing but a genetic mutation passed on from one family member to another that allows the individual to control themselves and the world around them in a way that is perceived by less intelligent species as supernatural.' "

She looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Father, if the gene is passed through family members, why don't you or mother have abilities like I do?"

Geir smiled and touched his daughter's nose.

"That's my girl, always the logical one. To be honest, I'm not sure. I know your great uncle Ord- you know, the one who lives in the mountains, is a very powerful 'scientist' just like you. You probably got it from him. And now, my love, I hate to change the subject, but you mother has sent me to collect you for the feast."

Inkeri sighed and cast a longing look back to her plants.

"Yes, father. I'll be along in a few minutes."

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Young Loki stood balanced precariously with one foot on a step ladder and the other firmly upon an ancient dusty shelf of the palace library. His fingers brushed across the huge tomes, looking for one in particular.

"Oy!" a voice yelled at him from across the room. Loki turned sharply at the noise, losing his balance. He grabbed onto a few books and pulled them down on top of himself as he crashed to the floor on his bottom.

"Kaapo!" He growled, pushing his palms into the hard marble floor and pulling himself up. He groaned inwardly. His ankle was sore now.

The young blonde boy came running towards him looking both amused and concerned at the same time. "Loki! You're a regular mess." He laughed.

Loki glared at Kaapo. "No thanks to you. What is it you want?"

Kaapo rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, looking very apologetic. "I'm sorry, my friend. I came to warn you that your father has been looking for you." He looked around carefully then leaned in and whispered, "From what I hear, he's in quite a mood too. What did you do?"

Loki sighed and winced, rubbing his temples in a slow circular motion.

"What happened?" Kaapo prodded calmly.

"I _borrowed_ Gungnir and accidentally shot an energy beam off and hit one of the pillars in the throne room. I only cracked it a little. I was hoping he wouldn't notice."

Kaapo chuckled. "Borrowed? You mean stole?" He poked Loki's shoulder with his finger.

The only response that could be heard from him was a faint irritated grumbling under his breath as he began to limp out of the library. Kaapo skipped after him, jolly and upbeat as ever.

"Did you hurt yourself my friend?" Kaapo questioned.

Loki grunted. "I'm fine, I'm fine."

"C'mon," Kaapo motioned for him to follow. "I know what will cheer you up. We still have some time before the feast starts. Let's go get Thor and see if we can scare the cook again by you teleporting a spider into her mixing bowl."

Loki brightened at that and slowly smiled. "Yes, but this time, it will be an illusion of a snake! I have been practicing it as of late."

The boys giggled and Loki's limp felt slightly better. They began to run quickly to Thor's quarters and turned a corner sharply… both of them running straight into Odin.

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Inkeri entered the throne room solemnly and looked around. It seemed as though all of Asgard was there, paying tribute to the royal family. Her eyes scanned over the king and queen. Odin was seated in his throne holding his staff Gungnir. He had a benevolent smile on his face, but she could tell he would rather be elsewhere. Frigga was smiling and reaching down to touch the shoulder of another nobleman's wife and look at her newborn child. She saw Thor, next to his father, dressed for the very first time in public in his shining silver armor. He had grown immensely tall since she saw him only a few months ago when they had come for the celebrations of his three hundredth year. He was an adolescent now, which meant that while he would continue his studies in the maths, sciences, diplomacy, and many other required courses of a future king, he would also fully commence his warrior's training. Inkeri's eyes finally rested on Loki, standing next to his mother, wearing his green and gold colors, looking sullen and bored. She remembered when he saw him last, he wasn't nearly this serious. He must be starting to do that bothersome thing all the boys seemed to be doing right now at their age, she thought, when they think they're too good to be around anyone else.

Inkeri and her family proceeded through the long procession and finally approached the throne. Her father got down on one knee and bowed low to Odin reciting one of the many appropriate formalities. "Allfather, we thank you for another summer, free of the bloodshed of war and for the abundant luxuries which we are privileged to have."

Odin smiled as Geir rose from his position. "Geir my old friend, it has been a long time since we have had need of your services as a public defender."

Geir smiled back, "Although I love my work in the law, I suppose it is a good thing that we have had no serious trials."

Odin nodded and responded, "Indeed."

Frigga stepped forward and hugged her mother. "Asta, you are looking lovely, and Inkeri," She focused her attention on the girl, "You have grown so much."

Inkeri smiled back at her.

"How go your studies in the sciences?" Frigga questioned.

Inkeri beamed. "Wonderfully my queen! In fact, today, I learned that I could change the color of something simply by moving its molecules around…except for I'm not exactly sure how I did it," she confessed.

Frigga smiled. "Usually for one so young it is hard to understand such things. You will make a wonderful addition to the academy in…four years isn't it? Why yes I do believe you are the same age as my Loki."

Frigga gestured to him, and Inkeri looked over at him again, noticing that he was favoring one of his feet ever so slightly.

"Boys," the Queen motioned them over. "The feast is about to begin, and you've been standing here long enough. Why don't you take Inkeri and go play with your friends."

Thor wrinkled his nose. "With all due respect, mother, I am beyond the age of childish play."

Inkeri became indignant at that, yet held her tongue in front of the crown prince and the queen.

"Nonsense, Thor." Frigga admonished. "And besides, you play with the young lady Sif all the time."

Loki snickered and chimed in. "I wouldn't consider Sif to be much of a young lady, mother."

Frigga sighed, partly exasperated, and partly to hide a small smile. "That's enough, go on, off with you. Go get some food before the warriors get to it."

At that, Thor bolted off in the direction of the royal banquet hall, stopping briefly to chat with another blonde, blue eyed boy who seemed to be closer to Loki's age. He was not quite as tall as Thor, but still had a similar warrior's build. He was speaking animatedly, using grand gestures and clapping the prince on the arm occasionally as if they had known each other all their lives. Inkeri thought it odd that she had never really noticed his presence until now, but maybe that was just because most of the summer festivals of her short life so far had been spent either pushing her food around with her utensils at one of the children's tables, or, more recently, involved in some act of chaos with Loki. It had all started a few summers ago when she had been seated directly across from him. He had seemed like such a nice boy at first, making pleasant and well-mannered conversation with the other children. He was the very picture of a true prince. That is, until she noticed that every time her fork went to stab a piece of fruit that was on her plate, the fruit conveniently moved out of the way, making her miss the target and scrape the plate with quite an ear piercing, shrill noise. It wasn't until she looked up in those emerald green eyes of his, dancing with laughter, that she knew. She had smiled politely at him in response, and before she could think about the implications of what she was doing, his cup "accidentally" slid to the edge of the table, and began to teeter dangerously towards toppling over onto his fine white tunic. The look in his eyes had immediately turned from mirth, to horror, and then clouded over with an evil mischief. He had picked up the cup and placed it back on the middle of the table, his childish lips now drawn into a thin smirk. They had stared at each other, then, each with a look of challenge cast toward the other. The staring contest had been cut short, however, when Thor, who had been at the head of the table, had called out to his brother warning him that if he kept looking at girls, he would turn into a rock troll. T'was a proven fact, said he. Inkeri remembered poor Loki's face then, turning dejected and sour as he looked away from her with great embarrassment. She had turned her attention to Thor, then, and again acted without thinking. That's when Thor's cup happened to fall in his lap. That was also when the entire table had burst into laughter at the sake of the first prince of Asgard. She would never forget his face, his mouth agape, purple boysenberry juice spilled all over his beautiful silver colored princely tunic. Loki had been blamed, of course, and she had apologized to him later that night for it, but to him, seeing the golden Thor in such a way had been worth it. They had been friends ever since then, and the juice prank had blossomed into a yearly tradition between the two of them, conspiring together to commit some sort of gag against at least one or two of the unsuspecting feast goers- usually Thor. It was all in harmless good fun, though. At least in her mind it was, she was never really sure about what Loki's motivations were.

Inkeri looked up at her mother for permission to go. She then approached Loki who was slowly moving toward the hall, trying to hide his limp.

She cocked her head and eyed him curiously. Ever since they had both come to be two hundred and ninety six during the last year, he had always intrigued her just a little more for some reason. Not that she would ever tell him that. He would definitely think it strange of her.

"My most wonderful prince." She bowed her head slightly and curtsied dramatically.

He actually smirked at that. "Oh please."

"What happened to your foot?" She questioned as they finally made their way into the banquet hall. Thor and the other boy were already there loading up their plates with delicacies.

Loki sighed. "My friend Kaapo there," he pointed to the boy with Thor, "Made me fall off of a ladder. I'm fine, and it's really just my ankle that's sore."

"Your friend forced you to fall off of a ladder?" Inkeri questioned incredulously. He tended to exaggerate the truth quite a lot.

"Yes!" Loki replied, "Well, he startled me and made me fall."

Inkeri had an idea. "Loki, sit down, I want to try something."

Loki looked skeptical. And why could the girl never call him by his proper title anyway? "What is it?"

"Just sit down." She commanded.

He huffed and made his way over to a chair. He eyed her curiously as she got down on her knees and lifted up the leg of his pant. His ankle was slowly turning purple.

Ever so gently, Inkeri touched his ankle to assess the damage.

 _What does she think she's doing?_

Inkeri looked up at him confused. "What did you say?"

Loki's eyes widened. "I said nothing."

Inkeri cocked her head and looked at him curiously. He quickly grew flustered and looked away. Ever since he had first taken notice of the girl, they had become fast friends, but at the same time, he felt like she could see straight into his very soul. It unnerved him to no end. Plus, he hated being touched. Although he had to admit, it wasn't that bad. But people would stare, for heaven's sake.

She let it go and held her hard to his leg again closing her eyes.

"You broke it." She said finally, opening her olive eyes. "I can see it. A hairline fracture, nothing more."

Loki grunted and moved his leg away from her hand. She was making him uncomfortable, but he couldn't explain why.

"Let me try to heal you?" She pleaded, looking up at him again. "Please. I healed our cat once when it was mauled by a wolf. I can heal you."

He considered her words carefully. If he went to the healers at this point, his father would find out, and he'd be in even more trouble for climbing the library bookshelf. He already had to fix the pillar in the throne room and go without his books for a week, and he figured he would be flogged if he got into any more trouble.

"Fine," He replied.

She touched him again, so gently that it caused goosebumps to form on the skin of his arms. She closed her eyes and stayed like that for what felt like forever. The throbbing in his leg began to subside greatly, and he noticed the purple mark was slowly turning back to milky white flesh.

"Inkeri! What are you doing?"

Loki looked up and saw the girl's mother rushing over to them, Frigga quickly following.

Inkeri finished her work and slowly opened her eyes, taking her hand off of his ankle. Realizing what was going on, she quickly bowed to the queen.

"I'm sorry my queen. The prince had hurt his ankle, so I healed it."

Loki could tell through her feigned repentance that she was deeply proud of herself. Show off.

Frigga smiled and put her hand on her son's leg. "And what a fine job you've done of it." She turned to Inkeri. "You'll make a wonderful healer someday. Just remember to be careful with what you practice on until you've received at least a little schooling, my dear."

Inkeri blushed and looked down and nodded.

"Run along now you two," Frigga urged them.

They both got up and ran to the food tables.

Asta shook her head. "She can be so impulsive sometimes. She always thinks she knows better."

Frigga smiled and wrapped her arm around her friend's.

"She will grow to be a fine young lady someday. I have seen it."

Asta nodded, relieved in hearing this from the queen herself. If she had seen it, then so it would be.

The two women smiled and chatted, watching their children play together.

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	2. Chapter 2

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Chapter Two

-Just about seven centuries later-

Inkeri sat cross legged on the couch in her small apartment, flipping through the channels on her television. As much as she had loved exploring Midgard, she would never understand their love for mindless entertainment, and yet here she was partaking in it herself. Shutting the device off, she stood up and stretched, looking out the window at the New York skyline. She had stayed there for over fifty years as part of her research into the healing practices of other cultures, moving around from one place to another, and finally ending up getting a medical degree and working as a doctor in a hospital in what the mortals referred to as The Big Apple. The time for her had been absolutely fascinating. Everything happened so fast on the tiny rock so far from her home. Medical theories came and went as quickly as the fashions in the department stores. She could barely keep up with it all, yet there was something she greatly admired in the humans as a species, which was their ability to fight against the odds, all in the face of their own mortality, just so that they could live even a few extra years. Their resilience had humbled her in a very profound way.

The intercom by the door buzzed, breaking her thought pattern. Stepping away from the window, she walked over to it and pressed the button.

"Who's there?"

"It's Samantha, darling."

Inkeri smiled and buzzed her up. For the most part, she had kept to herself, except for befriending a few people here and there. She would never keep in contact for too long, however, lest they notice that she wasn't really aging when everyone else around her was so rapidly. She had met the older woman Samantha a few years ago, however, when on a walk through the park. Her little dog had gotten trapped in a ditch and Inkeri had crawled in to get him out for her. Since then, they had been the best of friends.

Samantha knocked and Inkeri opened the door.

"Keri!" Samantha called out, as she stepped inside to embrace the young woman who had grown to be like one of her own daughters.

"I brought you some of those blueberry muffins you like. The ones with the sugar on top."

Inkeri dove into the bag immediately and stuffed a muffin into her mouth.

"Mmm fank you." She mumbled while chewing.

Samantha laughed and leaned back against the counter. It never ceased to amaze her how much the girl could eat, and still manage to stay so thin. "So, what are your big plans for this weekend? You know how I like to keep up with the gossip. Going on a hot date again with- what's his name? James?"

Inkeri swallowed and shook her head. Courtship. That was another thing she hadn't really meant to do on Earth. She was always careful with it, though, going on a few dates here and there, and then ending the thing before it got out of hand. "Sam, that was over months ago, and he was so boring. Actually, I uh, have to go visit my parents for a while. They, they live pretty far away and it's been quite some time since I've seen them. I usually go every summer, or autumn at least, but I haven't had a chance to with my work here at the hospital."

"Oh how wonderful! Where do they live?" Keri did have the strangest accent. She had mentioned to Samantha one day that her parents were Norwegian and British, which explained it, but she hadn't really ever said much else about them.

Inkeri looked to the left, then to the right. "Well, my parents live pretty far up north. In Canada. I'm actually leaving this afternoon to go up there. Actually, I've been meaning to tell you, I've taken a leave of absence from my work, and I might be gone for a while. You won't be worried will you?"

Samantha shook her head. "Of course not dear. I will miss our weekly chats though."

Inkeri smiled with relief. "Don't worry, I'll be back to check in occasionally. And of course I have to see my Jasper." Inkeri had taken a special liking to the little tube shaped dog, he looked like a sausage, and the humans called them wiener dogs.

"Of course," responded Samantha.

Inkeri pulled out her chess board. "I think we have time for one more game though."

Samantha clapped her hands together and smiled. "Oh good, I can at least beat you one last time!"

"Hey now!" The younger woman laughed good naturedly, "Do you have to rub your superiority in my face every time?"

Samantha giggled. "That's probably what poor James thought about you."

Inkeri's mouth dropped open as she laughed. "You're probably right about that."

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Hours later, after Samantha had gone, Inkeri cleared the last of her muffin crumbs into the trash and wiped the counters down. She looked around the apartment one last time and sighed. She would definitely miss it here. She consoled herself with the fact that she would come back as much as possible. She had decided earlier to tell the older woman that she was moving in with her parents for a while, as they were getting older and she needed to care for them. It would be easier for her to keep up the deception that way. In reality, however, in one of her recent communiques with Asgard, she had been offered a position as head researcher in the Ministry of Science by the director himself. While her healing abilities had always been of great interest to her, scientific discovery had always been her first love. It was an offer she couldn't refuse. She walked to the window and looked out on the New York skyline one last time, her eye catching on the illustrious and shining Stark Tower in the distance. She wished she could have confided who she really was and where she was from to some of the acquaintances she had met in her many years there, and she almost had, many a time, to Samantha. But they weren't ready yet. They were still far too young.

She stepped back from the window, picked up her coat, and left, locking the door behind her.

Inkeri made her way to the park and stepped into a heavily secluded area behind some trees. Earlier that week, she had been sure to clear the area, assuring that the Bifrost wouldn't pick up any entire trees or shrubs along with her. She looked around to make sure no one could see her and took a deep breath and looked up into the sky.

"Heimdall," She whispered.

Suddenly her vision exploded with light and colors as she whooshed through time and space, passing through the wormhole at light speed. It had been so long since she had taken a trip through the Bifrost that she almost forgot to turn her body halfway through the journey so that her feet would hit the ground instead of her head.

The experience was over nearly as soon as it had started and she stepped onto the platform with an excited grin.

"Heimdall! It's good to be home." She exclaimed.

The gatekeeper flashed a rare smile and looked her over. Her hair was cropped shockingly short in a choppy asymmetrical Earth fashion and she was wearing tight jeans and a bright orange flowing tank top with a chocolate brown short trench coat.

"Lady Inkeri," he chuckled. "You are still as charming as ever."

She laughed. "See you at the summer festival my friend?"

He nodded and turned from her, continuing his vigilance over the gate.

Inkeri quickly made her way to the house of her youth, ignoring the stares of some of the other young maidens who were already dressed in their finest. She imagined she must look pretty strange to many of them. In her culture, the current length of her hair was considered by many to be shameful and masculine. She also realized that in just a few months, Thor would be appointed prince regent at his coronation. A good many of them would probably try to woo the young prince tonight in an effort to be the future queen, she thought as she rolled her eyes. She also decided that she would keep her hair the way it was, just for fun.

Running up to her front door she barreled in.

"Mother! Father! I'm home."

She looked around the house, not surprised that nothing had really changed. It had been such a short amount of time, after all.

Geir emerged slowly from the back of the house, looking nearly the same as he had the last time she saw him.

"Who is this? A robber in my house? I'll call for the guard!" He smiled, "Then I'll defend you in court."

Inkeri laughed loud as her father pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I missed you too father. Where's mother?"

"She's out in the garden taking care of the flowers as always. Don't tell her I said this, but she doesn't do nearly as good a job as you do." He winked at her.

"Right, you mean she doesn't cheat and revive them the way I do?" Inkeri laughed.

"Something like that, yes."

At that, Inkeri saw her mother walk into the house with her hands over her heart.

"Daughter is that you? Look at you!"

Asta hugged her only child and kissed the top of her head.

"You look well. Lovely hair." Her mother fluffed up one of the short pieces of hair framing her daughter's face.

Inkeri giggled and responded, "I can't wait to see the faces of the other maidens tonight when they see my hair as short as a man's."

Geir laughed and then mimicked the ladies of the court by turning his nose up at her and looking down.

"Oh blessed Norns, what have we here?" He said in a screeching female voice. "I'm just here for the free mead. And oh my, have you seen the prince Thor? He is positively dashing!"

The little family dissolved into giggles.

Asta turned to her daughter, merrily shaking her head. "So, we have some time before we go, tell us all about Midgard." She requested, taking her Inkeri and leading her to the kitchen table.

They sat down, and the two of them listened intently as their daughter regaled them with frightening tales of Midgardian hospital emergency rooms, and shiny metal surgery instruments.

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Sighing, Loki got up and left his books. His mother would be wondering where he was by now, he was sure of it. He stood up and looked in his mirror, slicking back his ink black hair and straightening his green formal shirt. Good enough, he thought to himself. Leaving his quarters, he proceeded with an almost dramatic slowness down to the grand hall. He had never understood the Aesir need for constant celebrations. This one was to celebrate the long nights of the Asgardian summer. Usually, they would celebrate every individual season-winter being his favorite, and also after the victory of a battle, but they had not seen real war in a great many years thanks in part to his father. Perhaps, he mused, the warrior race needed something sensory related to do at all times- be it fight or have fun.

Loki approached one of the side doors to the celebration hall. He could already hear Thor's voice booming from inside. Heaving another sigh, he slinked in, hoping to go unnoticed long enough to pay Frigga and the Allfather his respects and then leave.

"Brother!"

Loki winced.

His eyes drifted over to his big brother. He was already drunk, naturally. Thor had a mug in one hand and a leg of meat in the other. He was swinging the meat leg violently in the air, as if it was his hammer. Loki stifled a laugh and wondered to himself if turning Mjolnir into a roasted thigh of some great beast would even be possible. He logged the notion away to contemplate later.

"Brother!" Thor yelled again, "Come and meet my new friends!"

Loki approached the group and he scanned the table. He nodded to Sif and the Warriors Three and they nodded back, all seeming to be in good spirits. His eyes fell upon a few newcomers. From their formal attire, he could deduce that they were most likely the daughters of traveling delegates from the nearby realm of Vanaheim. He rolled his eyes as they swooned over his brother.

Then his gaze settled upon the last woman seated closer to the end of the table. He looked at her curiously. She was so different from all the others. Her skin was a golden tan, and her hair was a beautiful shade of auburn, chopped up like a man's. Her dress was a shockingly loud shade of burnt orange which stood out in stark contrast to the more common blues and silvers that the ladies of the court usually wore. He wondered briefly if she was a visiting delegate from some other land. He looked into her eyes and realized that they were the most pleasant shade of warm green, his favorite color. It was like he was looking at autumn itself. He also realized those eyes were staring straight back into his.

Then his mouth went dry as he recognized her.

"Loki," Thor began reciting the girls' names one by one, "This is Alfhild, Nanna, Jorunn"-and finally he came to the redhead sitting across from him-"and of course you already know-"

"Inkeri." Loki finished for him with a whisper. He hadn't seen her in nearly three hundred years. The last he heard of her, she was finishing her apprenticeship in some other realm, and then she had gone off to gods knew where in Midgard for a time.

She smirked and her olive eyes twinkled.

"It is good to see you again, Loki."

He pursed his lips together. Ever since they were children, she had always refused to call him by his title, or she would do so sarcastically. He supposed she did it to get under his skin.

Loki cleared his throat realizing she was still staring at him. He felt like she was peering into his very mind. Could she even do that? No, doubtful. He also realized that she was slightly amused by him in some way. Did she dare to mock him? Surprisingly he wasn't angry, only intrigued. He pulled out the nearest empty seat, which was oh-so-conveniently located in front of her and sat down.

"Inkeri was just relating to us her recent exploits on Midgard." Fandral related while eyeing her up and down. Loki knew the man well enough to know what he was planning to try to do with the young woman.

"Yes," Volstagg continued for him, "She seems to have a strange fascination with the Midgardian science practices."

Thor laughed raucously. "Bit of a waste of time if you ask me. I don't know how anyone could put up with their backwards hocus pocus."

Loki's eyes shot to Inkeri, her smirk was unwavering, yet her eyes had become hard. When she spoke, her voice was dangerously calm. Oh, this would be interesting, he thought to himself.

"Have you ever thought, perhaps, your highness, that we are the ones who are backward? For example, we still use the word "magic" to describe those of us who have abilities to control our surroundings with the powers of our minds. Some of our more talented ones still recite spells as if the power was in the words. They have forgotten that such words were invented by our scholars of old to help train those with abilities who had trouble focusing on what they were doing. Now look at us, we make fun of the humans, yet we pretend that we are the wielders of some great and mystical powers, which are actually easily explained by looking into our genetic coding. We are really not so very different from them at all."

The table had suddenly turned quiet. Sif smiled politely at her and Thor did his very best to try to nod and process what she had said.

Inkeri sat back in her chair and looked around, suddenly becoming slightly embarrassed at her outburst. Why did she think these people would understand? They were warriors, bred to fight. Act first, ask questions later. Well, maybe not all of them. Her eyes locked with the younger prince's and she noticed he was silent, staring at her intensely, with his brow slightly furrowed. His face was altogether unreadable and part of her wondered if he was really no longer the curious and intellectual young man she had remembered him to be. She sighed and broke the silence.

"Who wants more ale?" she yelled holding her mug in the air. The small table burst into cheers and resumed regular conversation. Inkeri looked back at Loki noticing he was still quiet, lost in thought.

Loki looked up at her, feeling her gaze pierce him through the cacophony of voices around him.

She smirked confidently, and he saw her eyes drift to the balcony outside, then back at him.

"Excuse me, my friends." She stood and bowed slightly to Thor, her eyes lowered in humble submission, and then to Loki, never once breaking his sightline. Then she walked to the balcony, disappearing behind a grand velvet curtain.

Loki watched her go, feeling like his whole body was on fire. His thoughts, normally controlled and precise were now running jumbled through his head.

"Just who is she exactly?" Fandral managed to fumble out in his inebriated haze.

Loki's eyes tightened slightly.

Thor responded to him, "She is a master scientist and a traveler, child of the public defender, Geir. She grew up with us, then left when she was of age to attend the Royal Academy of Sciences. She has always been very…different, as most of the scientists are." Thor, decent man at heart that he was, regretted it as soon as he said it and gave the group an apologetic look.

The three Vanir women at the table burst into tipsy giggles at that.

Different indeed, Loki thought.

He looked over to Fandral again and noticed he was hungrily eyeing the direction in which she had gone.

Loki stood up quickly before Fandral had the chance to.

"I like different," he said with a forced smile. "If you'll all excuse me." He nodded at everyone and turned, walking quickly out of the hall.

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	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Inkeri stood leaning onto the balcony watching the moons rise as she reveled in the cool summer night's breeze. She heard footsteps approaching and smiled.

"I was wondering if you'd follow me." She said without turning around.

Loki was about to respond, but then grinned sinisterly. Disguising his body and voice with an illusion of Fandral he answered her smoothly.

"Why yes, my lady. How could I resist you? When you ran to the balcony, I knew you wanted me."

Inkeri turned smiling and eyed him up and down, leaning her elbows against the railing of the balcony.

"Shall we have each other then? Right here, right now, with the King and Queen only meters away?"

Loki eyed her taken aback by her response. Surely it was him who she had signaled to come out here.

Inkeri began to laugh. "Cat got your silver tongue?"

Loki suddenly realized that he, the ultimate prankster, had become the prank. He scoffed and dissolved the illusion.

"How did you know?" he demanded with a grin.

She laughed again and turned back around towards the moons.

"I am happy to say that you are still the same, even after all these years."

He approached her and leaned on the rail next to her.

She turned her gaze to him and finally began to speak.

"Do you remember that time we fizzed the mead?"

He thought for a moment and burst into a hearty laugh.

"It was all over everything. Father had it in his hair. If I recall correctly, the queen of Vanaheim ruined her favorite dress."

"Yes!" She remembered. "That purple atrocity."

"Father was so angry, you should have seen him, lecturing me afterward looking like a sopping wet swamp rodent."

Inkeri giggled, turning her body towards him. "I'm sure that was horrible for you."

He smiled, charming as ever. "But oh so worth it."

She shook her head, resting one elbow on the railing and grew silent, watching him thoughtfully.

"What is it?" He nearly whispered, seemingly transfixed by her eyes.

"You were slightly offended by my remarks on magic." She guessed his feelings, "You know it is science, but you also believe it to be an art form that must be respected, revered even."

She looked into his eyes and noticed he had crossed his arms and his left eyebrow had arched briefly.

"What would you know about magic, Scientist?" He responded.

Inkeri bit her lip and smiled mischievously, leaning in towards him even more. She was so close he could kiss her.

"I know that right now, your hair is a delightful shade of fuchsia."

Loki's eyes widened in surprise as his hands shot up to his head, pulling a chunk of hair in front of his eyes to confirm, that it was indeed, quite a bright pink color.

How could he not have felt that? To pull such a simple prank was one thing, to get it passed him was another.

He smiled with a curious gleam in his eyes and returned his hair to its natural color.

Inkeri giggled. "You know, you do look much more handsome with it black."

He cocked his head, chuckling.

"Well done, darling. I see your abilities have increased since we last saw each other."

She nodded. "Even though I never studied to be a master sorcerer as you did, my six centuries of tutelage in the Academy of Science gave me a good enough if not better education into how far I can go with my powers."

She stopped suddenly and looked at him sheepishly.

"My apologies, I did not mean to insult you again."

He smiled.

"Do not apologize to me my lady, for I have always found you quite fascinating."

She blushed and avoided his gaze and he noticed that underneath all of her puffed up confidence, she was surprisingly shy.

"Silver Tongue, indeed."

"So," he prodded her, "How far can you go?"

Her eyes shot up to his nervously.

"You show me yours and I'll show you mine." She quipped.

Loki laughed again. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately.

"Fine," he replied, "As you already know, I can shapeshift, I can perform telekinesis and teleportation,"-he began to tick them off one by one on his long fingers, "I can heal myself or others, I can generate powerful destructive beams and force fields, and many, many other things. And," he grinned evilly, "I can read minds."

Inkeri's smile faded and he just knew he had her beat.

"I've never met another who could." She whispered.

Loki swallowed.

"Telepathy? You mean to tell me that you can do this too?"

Now he was even more curious.

She nodded.

"Do you remember, all those years ago, when I healed your ankle?"

He nodded.

"When I touched you, I could hear your thoughts. Just for a split second. I didn't understand what had happened at the time, but later I came to the realization that I had the power of telepathy." She thought for a moment, as if deciding to divulge something very important to him, then continued. "It only works when I am in direct physical contact with the person, though."

They were silent for a moment as they stared at one another contemplating what to do next. She looked down at his arm and impulsively reached out and grabbed his hand.

Loki gasped. Their minds connected at once in a brilliant flash of light and colors. Inkeri dizzily swayed back and let go.

"T-that's never happened before." She stuttered.

Loki looked down at her and held out his hand.

"May I try again?" He asked.

She nodded her consent and he gently took her hand, interlacing her fingers through his own. Colors exploded into his vision again, but this time he was ready for it, and was able to filter some of it out.

He kept his gaze upon her and began to think instead of speak.

 _Now, what's really going on in that head of yours?_

She smiled naughtily and suddenly visions of them in the grand hall pushed into his head. He was swiping the cups and dishes off of the table and pushing her onto it, winding his fingers through her hair and devouring her in kisses in front of all to see.

He chuckled and shook his head.

 _Come now darling, show me what you're really thinking_.

Her smile slowly faded as he pushed past her ridiculous theatricals and into her real thoughts.

 _Fine_ , she responded.

He suddenly became very aware of how she felt. Her hand in his, the tingling sensations traveling up her arm, her breathing had become shallower.

He saw them again, except it was here on this balcony. He saw the last few minutes of their conversation played over again, but this time he felt what was going on in her mind. She was nervous, excited, she wanted to touch him so badly to see what he was thinking. She wanted to touch him just to touch him.

Her thoughts were scattered and loose. They took an abrupt turn, and he saw them in his library. He was seated in his reading chair at his desk with her in his lap while he softly stroked her hair and she gazed up at him. They looked like they were about to kiss.

Her eyes widened, and he grinned wickedly.

 _Oh gods, I'm sorry_. She thought.

 _What a vivid imagination. I do believe that fantasy was real._ He laughed.

He even felt her embarrassment.

She quickly regained control and banished the thought, then he felt her pushing back around into his mind. He saw himself enter the great hall and see her for the first time. He knew she wanted to know what he was thinking when he first saw her tonight. She felt his curiosity, his amazement at her features, his annoyance with Thor and his friends. She saw him gaze into her eyes.

 _My green eyes_. Her thoughts whispered randomly.

He smiled and nodded.

Her smile faded as she saw what had happened after she left.

"She is different."

 _He didn't mean it, and besides, they are all idiots_. He communicated to her, and carefully tucked a small piece of hair behind her ear.

She smiled up at him.

 _I have to admit, this is the deepest connection I've ever experienced with a person._ _It is difficult to process, to say the least_. She confessed.

His smile turned serious and his eyes grew dark and intense.

 _It is quite maddening isn't it?_ He agreed with her.

"Loki!" an even drunker Thor burst onto the balcony, shattering the connection.

They both looked at him startled.

"Brother, you came all the way out here to the balcony to be with her just to hold her hand? Come!" He stumbled towards them, "Mother and father wish to speak with us about an important matter."

Loki glared at his brother and looked back toward Inkeri who was laughing at Thor.

"My lady," he bowed to her gritting his teeth, "Do excuse me please." He turned and began to walk away but to his great surprise, he heard her thoughts projecting to him yet again.

 _I hope we have the chance to speak again_. She whispered.

 _I thought_ …

Before he could finish, her laughter rang out on the balcony, like the sound of tinkling chimes.

 _I lied, I secretly just wanted to have an excuse to touch you_.

His mouth dropped open and she winked at him, passing him to saunter back inside.

 _Until we meet again, then, my lady_. He whispered back to her.

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Loki didn't see her again for several days, and although he would never admit it to anyone else, he couldn't get her off of his mind.

He supposed it was the fact that their mental connection had been so great. Usually, if he concentrated, he could hear what others were thinking, even link with them for a time, as he suspected she could. But since the other person was not naturally telepathic, it had always felt hollow, one sided.

It also frightened him that there was someone out there who could see his real self in such a unique way. He wasn't sure if he liked it.

He sighed. This was ridiculous, behaving this way for a mere woman, no- a girl he had known since he was a child. A girl that had distracted his parents while he had projected an image of Thor dropping his trousers in front of the Grand Chancellor of Alfheim one summer. Although, that was a rather good one.

He put his face in his palm and shook his head. He needed to concentrate on his work at hand. Thor's coronation would soon be here, and he wanted to have a bit of fun toying with his brother.

He loved Thor, but he was less than thrilled to see him take the throne. Thor had a good heart, but he was prideful and lacked the knowledge and humility it took to be king. Loki could never understand why his father had always favored Thor over him. He knew the throne would go to the oldest son and he had accepted that, but there had always been an odd disconnect between him and Odin.

He was pulled from his thoughts as he heard a knocking at his door.

"Come in." He sighed yet again.

A tall, muscular blonde warrior strode into his room.

"Kaapo!" Loki smiled. "What have you been up to my friend?"

"Ah, I was just about to ask the same of you." Kaapo contemplated his friend with his arms crossed.

"You've been holed up in here for days. Why haven't you been training with us?" Kaapo's eyebrows raised as he had a thought and he grinned.

"Are you sulking about some woman?"

Loki, always the expert liar, kept his jovial smile.

"Are you sure you're not talking about yourself? Thor informed me of your mishap with Tyra during last night's feast."

Kaapo scowled.

"It was an accident! I did not mean to spill the wine all over her dress."

Loki laughed.

"Don't worry, she still likes you. But she won't for long if you don't hurry up and do something about it."

"Loki," Kaapo interrupted, "How did we get off the subject of you and onto me?"

"What can I say? It's a gift." He replied, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Well, take your special gift and come down tonight for the last night of the festival. I know you can't stop thinking about Inkeri."

Loki's eyes went wide, but he quickly collected himself and scowled.

"Aha. Gotcha. Don't look so shocked. Everyone saw you two about to devour each other the other night." Kaapo laughed.

Loki looked away, "You exaggerate almost as well as I do. Almost."

Kaapo snickered and walked toward the door. "See you tonight."

Loki didn't reply as he watched his childhood friend exit his quarters.

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Inkeri got up from her table at the feasting hall. She was sick of listening to the mindless drivel of her warrior friends and couldn't concentrate well enough to engage any of her scientist friends.

She looked down at her dress and smoothed it out. It was a low halter in a beautiful deep periwinkle color with gold accents on the straps and bodice that showed off her toned shoulders and cinched in at the waist, flowing freely down her body. Something about this color seemed to calm her, even in the most stressful of situations.

Moving her way through the crowds of people out of the hall, she found herself in the gardens, walking aimlessly through the tall rows of roses, all in bloom.

"And this whole time, I thought green was my favorite color. It appears I've been proven wrong."

Inkeri gasped and turned swiftly to see Loki leaning against one of the tall trees behind her.

"Ah, there you are, my good prince. Well, if it was that easy to sway your opinion, I wonder what else I could get you to do." She countered with a grin.

Loki smiled genuinely. He had never met someone who could keep up with his wit so quickly.

"From our conversation the other night, I'm sure I already know all of the things you want me to do." He responded, referring to his brief vision of her fantasy.

He thought she would blush at that, but instead, she walked closer to him, smirking.

"Yes, about that, I've been thinking, our link was pretty strong. How do I know that you didn't put that there yourself?" She questioned.

 _Trust me darling, if I wanted to put a fantasy in your mind, you'd know it_. He thought to her.

Her smile faded and her eyes grew wide with surprise and he laughed knowing he had won that round.

She approached him and leaned facing him on one shoulder against the tree.

 _I know what this is all about. You can't stay out of my mind can you_? She prodded him searching his cool green eyes.

 _I do what I please_. He replied with a grin, not bothering to switch back to normal speech.

 _So_ , he began _, now that I know the extent of your telepathic powers, tell me, how have your healing powers progressed?_

Before she could answer him, she re-positioned herself to get more comfortable and brushed against his shoulder, making her stomach turn in a circle and causing goosebumps to form on her bare arms.

Loki grinned wide and took her hand in his and began softly stroking the little bumps that had raised on one of her arms.

 _You know I can feel everything you feel when we are connected like this_?

She shivered and gently pulled her arm from him.

 _I don't remember you being such a tease when we were little_. She finally replied, flustered. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat, clearly enjoying this.

Before he could respond, she answered his first question out loud.

"As far as my healing capabilities, I can fix just about any wound, I can pinpoint a virus or a radical group of cells and eliminate them. Another thing I have discovered is that I could, if I wanted to, transfer my energy to another."

"Would it not kill you to do so?" He asked.

"For an animal or perhaps a human, no, it would weaken me for a time, but I would heal. For another Asgardian…" She trailed off, "I'm sure it would kill me."

He swallowed. His healing powers were on a small scale compared to hers. Not even he had that ability, and once he had used all of his power to heal, he could do so no more until it regenerated. Also, if he was honest with himself, he doubted that he'd ever sacrifice himself to save another.

Her eyes brightened, and she continued. "I can also peer into your DNA as the Midgardians call it. In fact, I can look into your very genetic structure and see the half of you that came from your mother, and the other half that came from your father. It's quite fascinating really."

Without asking for permission, she moved around him and stepped in from of him taking both of his hands, smiling as she closed her eyes. He smiled and watched her work, his gaze drifting down to her full lips.

"I felt that." She laughed, and he realized that they were still linked in some way.

He cleared his throat and calmed his thoughts and she resumed.

Her smile suddenly faded and her brow furrowed.

"What is it?" He asked nervously.

She opened her eyes.

"It is nothing. It was much easier to do on humans that's all. Their genetic structure is much less complex than ours. I suppose I'll have to keep practicing."

She broke eye contact with him, but managed to maintain her smile. He looked at her skeptically and probed into her mind gently.

She pushed him out with a laugh. "Hey, I think if we are going to keep doing this, we should have boundaries."

Loki looked down at their hands, still clasped together and grinned. "Keep doing this? So this means I'll see more of you, Lady Inkeri, Head Researcher of All Scientific Truths?"

Inkeri laughed aloud. "I like that title, it has a nice ring to it. And you know you want to. Now, perhaps you should walk me home before my father thinks I've been spending the entire night in the palace gardens with some roguish, raven haired prince. One who was thinking naughty things about my lips and," she thought for a moment, "I believe earlier there was a quick flash of-."

Loki groaned, cutting her off before she could say it out loud. "What was that you were saying about boundaries?"

She laughed as they moved away from the tree and he held his arm out to her.

"If it's not too forward of me, perhaps we can work that out tomorrow night." She looked up at him seriously as they began to walk, all the jesting from before gone from her voice.

His eyes crinkled as he smiled and he nodded, gently cradling her arm in his as he walked her home.

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	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Inkeri tossed and turned the whole night, unable to stop thinking about her most recent encounter with Loki.

His…DNA.

Asgardian DNA was very similar looking to a human's. A double helix with connecting lines in between the spirals. Loki's was completely different, having many circles stacked on top of each other with various lines in between. She had never seen anything like it in all of her years. Even with all of her powers, her own genetic coding still looked similar to another Asgardian's who did not possess abilities.

She sat up in her bed and threw the covers off of her. There was no use trying to sleep now. The only place she could find the answer would be in the science academy libraries.

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Inkeri sat up and stretched in her chair, the dull light of the library computer's hologram wavering in front of her. She looked up at the window. The sun was beginning to rise.

She yawned and swiped the hologram to the side, bringing up more information in the database.

So far, she had observed many different cases in the databanks of genetic mutations, anomalies, even products of other races that had procreated with the Aesir. Nothing matched. He had not one piece of Aesir DNA in him.

She sighed. Something wasn't right here, and from his reaction the previous night, she doubted he knew.

Maybe he wasn't even Aesir, she thought. How would that even be possible? If he wasn't, the implications of this discovery could destroy the royal family. It could destroy him.

Beginning to grow nervous, Inkeri looked at her options. The dark elves were all long dead, although it could've been possible that a few survived under the radar. It was unlikely he was a dark elf or even a light elf, as he was much too tall.

Unless he happened to belong to one of the other races that resided outside of the branches of Ydrassil, this left the Vanir, which she had already ruled out, the dwarves, which again wasn't possible because of his height, the fire demons, and the Jotnar.

The Jotnar.

Panic rose in her chest. Over the past few days, when she had held his hands, she couldn't help but notice how cold his skin was. She had attributed it to nerves but he had not seemed nervous last night, in fact, he was quite sure of himself.

Fear rose up to her throat and she swallowed, standing up and swiping through the DNA holograms until she reached her intended target.

Her eyes widened and her shaking hands covered her mouth as she sat back down in her chair with a thud.

"Oh, Loki." She whispered.

How could he not know? His parents, the healers, they must have all known save for him. And now her. If it was ever made known that she was harboring a secret of this magnitude, she knew not what would become of her.

Peering nervously around the room, she closed the program and took all steps to ensure her search had been deleted from the computer. No one had been there all night, and hopefully, no one would ever question her activities there.

Getting up, she pulled her shawl closely around her shoulders and ran out of the building, quickly following the path outside of the castle on her way to her home.

She stopped abruptly as she had a realization. She was going to see him again tonight. They would link minds again and he would find out. He would see everything, wouldn't he? She would have to work hard to ensure that he didn't.

"Inkeri."

She heard a voice call her name from in front of her and looked up. Eyes widening, she curtseyed and bowed her head.

"Queen Frigga." She whispered, beginning to panic again.

Frigga approached her and looked at her intently for a moment.

"Walk with me child." She commanded softly.

Inkeri looked up at her and nodded her compliance, walking next to her as they began to cross through the gates to the palace garden.

They walked for what felt like forever into a part of the garden that Inkeri had never seen before.

The whole area was surrounded by hedges, filled with flowers, some of which she had never even seen before. She realized that she must be in the queen's own private garden.

Frigga sat down on a small bench and signaled for Inkeri to follow.

After the young woman had sat, she finally spoke.

"My son is very taken with you." She smiled.

Inkeri swallowed hard. Frigga was a seer, meaning she could see many possible future outcomes of any given situation. She was very rarely wrong in her predictions.

"Yes, and I with him. The prince has always been a good friend to me, as I hope I have been to him." Inkeri replied, breaking eye contact with her, suddenly feeling very small.

Frigga studied her quietly.

"You are good for him, you know. You must realize something, however. I love my son more than life itself, but know this, he has many dark sides. Some of them he doesn't even know about." Her soft blue eyes pierced Inkeri's for a moment and she continued, "I have seen many paths. What they are, I will not say, but, he will only become successful if he feels like he is loved, and…accepted, no matter what." She finished cryptically.

Inkeri nodded slowly. So it very well could destroy him if he found out.

Inkeri's mind raced. She had so many questions, the very first of them being, why? Why would you do this? How did this happen?

Frigga smiled sadly as if she could hear her thoughts, which, Inkeri thought, wouldn't surprise her if she could.

"I'm sorry dear, I know you have many questions, but it is dangerous to speak too much."

Frigga looked up into the early morning sky just as two black raven birds flew over them. Odin's ravens.

"You will learn all of the answers in time. All I can tell you is that his family loves him, and wishes the best for him. But please, promise me this, keep an open mind. You may learn other things that may disturb you about Loki," Inkeri picked up her stress on the word "other", "but he is good at heart. I promise you that."

Inkeri looked down at her hands and nodded. "I promise to try to never judge him, and I would never hold him accountable for things out of his control." She then thought for a moment, steeling herself up, and boldly looked into the eyes of her queen with a fierce determination. "But I also know that Loki is mischievous, and I have seen firsthand in the past that his jests can at times become cruel. My lady, I am sorry to say, if he ever behaves harmfully towards himself or others on purpose, he will hear the truth from me, whether he wants to or not."

Frigga laughed out loud and put her hands over the tops of Inkeri's.

"I know my dear. That I am counting on."

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Loki pulled gently on Sleipnir's reins as he guided them into the royal stable. Though the horse had belonged to his father, the two had taken a special liking to one another from the time they very first had met, and for this reason, the young prince always chose to exercise the great beast whenever he could. Thor and the Warriors Three had already arrived, and were dismounting, letting the stable hands lead their horses off to water and food. Loki dismounted, already annoyed that the others had left him in the dust. He approached them just as Thor and the others burst into laughter at some joke unheard by him. Loki's nose shriveled in disgust for a microsecond then his face returned to its usual frown. They always left him out of everything.

His thoughts randomly drifted back to one of his and Thor's very first missions together. They had chased the fugitive Ulik back down to the down to the realm of Nornheim. He had run into a cave, and thinking they had cornered him, Thor ran in, hammer held high, while Loki held back slightly. He could sense Ulik in the cave, but he could sense others also. Suddenly, as quickly as Thor had entered, he was running back out of the cave, fear in his eyes as nearly one hundred rock trolls gave chase. Loki had been nervous. He had never seen his older brother looking so tense. Thor caught up to Loki, and they both began to run, finally reaching a better vantage point on the high rocks. Thor grounded himself steadily and with a loud cry, and had flung Mjolnir, watching as it passed through at least ten of them.

"Thor! There are too many of them!" Loki had cried out, obviously fearful of their lives at this point.

Thor had laughed boastfully and called down lightening into the center of the trolls as his hammer returned to his hand.

"Nonsense, brother! They are no match for me!"

Loki had frowned and yelled back, "You mean for us?" But Thor didn't hear him. He was in the heat of battle now as three of the warriors circled him. He began to pound them all into pebbles with his hammer.

Two of them had begun to circle Loki, their fists ready for battle and stone clubs in their hands.

Quickly he cast an illusion of himself and teleported behind them, waiting for them to strike at his illusion, then he quickly dissolved them with a burst of energy. Wielding his energy beam around, he took out three more of them, watching as Thor took out nearly twenty more with his hammer. Maybe they really could do this, Loki had thought triumphantly. They had fought their way through the crowd together, subduing most and watching as the rest ran off like cowards. Thor had approached Loki, wiping the sweat off of his brow and laughing victoriously.

"You see, Loki! I told you we could do it." Thor had cried as he good naturedly slapped his brother's back.

Loki remembered that in that very moment, he had finally felt at one with his brother, like the true team they were meant to be.

Suddenly they had heard a cry in the distance. Nearly three hundred more rock trolls had appeared over the edge of the hill in the distance and they were closing in fast. Loki looked nervously at Thor.

"Thor! We need to go, now!" He had cried.

Reluctantly, Thor nodded in agreement and Loki veiled them in smoke, letting them escape before the warriors could reach them.

As soon as they had reached home, a feast of celebration was arranged. However, as they were regaling the tale of their harrowing adventure to Sif and the Warriors Three, Thor had taken most of the credit for himself.

"My friends!" He had said, "Today I have fought my way through one hundred warriors and pulled us out alive."

Loki had laughed and jabbed his brother in the side good naturedly.

"Brother, as I recall, I was the one who cast a smoke screen to ease our escape."

Thor laughed back.

"Well, what can I say? Some do battle and others do tricks."

Loki had laughed bitterly, looking down into his cup as the others laughed along with Thor. At that point, in front of everyone else, they were no longer equals.

Thor saw the look on his brother's face and called out to him laughing, pulling Loki back to the present.

"Come now brother, why the long face?"

Loki smiled, hiding his feelings. "I'm fine, Thor, really. I had a very enjoyable time riding back all by myself."

Fandral chuckled and whispered to Hogun, "I bet that's not the only thing he does by himself."

Overhearing him, Loki balled up his hands in anger. Gritting his teeth he addressed Fandral. "How dare you speak to your prince in such a manner?"

Fandral sobered and held his hands in the air as a gesture of peace.

"Loki I'm sorry, I did not mean anything by it. I say the same things about Volstagg and Hogun, even Thor, you know I do."

Loki's fists clenched harder as he shot daggers through his eyes at Fandral.

Thor laughed, oblivious to Loki's feelings and clapped his hand onto his brother's shoulder.

"Come now, Loki. The prince of mischief can't handle a little jest between friends?"

Loki's gaze drifted from Fandral to his brother and he slowly let go of his rage to appease him.

"Of course I can, brother." He said softly, looking away.

Thor guffawed and clapped his shoulder again, nearly knocking Loki over.

Thor turned away from Loki and spoke to the rest of the group. "My friends! Come, I am hungry, let us partake of the midday meal!" The four turned and exited the stables, laughing and carrying on about one of their many great conquests. As soon as they had left, Loki eyes grew wild. He turned and yelled out, shooting an energy beam into one wall of the stable, burning a hole clean through it. The servants ran and scattered from their places of work, but he didn't care. It pleased him in some way that they were afraid of him. His eyes drifted to one of the stable men. He sneered at the man as he looked away in fear.

"Clean this mess up," He commanded, and stalked out of the stables.

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	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Inkeri began the short trek home later that morning with a heavy mind. The boy she had known for centuries was never even a boy at all. He was what her people, including her very own king, referred to on a daily basis as a monster, a lowly creature, and an abomination. She wondered how he appeared to be Aesir, and how not even he himself knew that he was different. The Jotnar were natural shapeshifters. Perhaps from infancy he had instinctually blended in with the rest of them, or maybe Odin had put some sort of glamour in place on Loki to change his features. There were so many unanswered questions. How must he look in his natural state? She stopped suddenly, remembering the images she had seen of the frost giants in her learning courses as a child. A Jotun was tall, nearly twice the size of an Aesir. The males had vicious looking sharp teeth, with deadly black horns and long, black pointed claws. Their eyes were crimson speckled with orange, and their skin was blue. Loki was only about as tall as an Aesir male, but Inkeri could imagine him with all of the other features of his kind. He had always been lithe and slender like a Jotun, unlike his much larger, stronger brother. Even so, he was no weakling, and he never had been. He was the most intelligent and clever person she had ever known, but he always looked as if he was rather uncomfortable in his own skin. She concluded with a small smile that his Jotun self would probably fit him very well. The thought should probably bother her a great deal, make her hands tremble with fright, but it didn't. She had never been one to fear those who were different. Inkeri thought back to what she had said to Frigga in the garden. Loki was her friend, and he always had been. There had never been any judgement passed between the two of them, and there was no logical reason that she could think of to do so now.

She kicked a pebble on the path and rounded the corner, spotting her house in amongst the nest of neat golden homes that were scattered along the east side of the palace. Unlike most of the dwellings of the noble people that faced the great lake in the center of the realm, hers pointed toward the high green trees that made up part of Asgard's enormous forest. Approaching the door, she crossed the threshold with a tired sigh.

"Mother? Father?" She called out into the silence.

No one returned her call, causing her to assume that her father was on some sort of business for the palace and her mother was out for the day. Her eyes landed on a small wooden table in the entryway. A parchment letter sat upon it for her that bore one of the royal seals, the emerald wax set into the beautiful head of a snake. In spite of everything, she grinned, and broke it open, skimming over the contents. Loki was requesting her presence that night for dinner in his private dining room.

Her fingers gently skimmed the script lining the page. This had become something much more than some simple flirtation between two old friends. Everything was so complicated now, and part of her wished she could still be ignorant of everything she knew. Her mind flashed to her friend Samantha. Inkeri wished she were here right now. The woman always knew just what to say in any situation.

This was her burden to bear though, and she had to bear it alone.

Inkeri looked at the timekeeper on the wall. It was nearly midday, and she was exhausted from the night before. She set the letter down. There would be time to think about it all later. Making her way into her sleeping chambers, she sank down into her bed, pulling one of the plush pillows over her eyes and sighing.

Drifting in and out of sleep, Inkeri began to have troubled dreams. At first there was only darkness and a general feeling of uneasiness. Then, slowly, everything came into view. She was on a rocky landscape in some foreign place, and she was afraid.

"Nornheim" a strange voice that was not her own whispered in her thoughts.

Suddenly she saw Thor inside of a cave, no, he was outside of the cave. Inkeri's eyes tightened as she tossed and turned. Many rock trolls suddenly burst from the cave. Thor was fighting them. She looked down at her hand, and gasped. She was carrying a dagger. They fought together until they eventually had to fall back and make a run for it. Even so, she felt a surge of pride swell up in her breast, knowing that they were triumphant together.

Her dreamscape changed and she was in a feasting hall. Everyone was there. They were laughing, but they weren't laughing at her. She looked down into her goblet and gasped seeing not her face, but Loki's.

"Some do battle and others do tricks." Came Thor's voice from nowhere.

The dream shattered and this time she was in the royal stables.

Voices began to bombard her thoughts, striking over and over, some overlapping into one. They distorted and twisted, pushing their way into her consciousness until she felt like she would go insane.

"Some do battle and others do tricks."

"Trickster! Good for nothing liar."

"Monster!"

"I bet that's not the only thing he does by himself."

"I bet that's not the only…I bet that's not…"

She saw Loki there suddenly, his eyes red and his skin blue. He yelled in rage and released an energy blast into the wall. She began to shake with fright. He turned and looked right at her sneering.

"What do you think you're doing here, Scientist?"

He reached out and grabbed her throat laughing maniacally.

"Scientist!" He repeated as he choked her, holding her up with his blue hand, her feet dangling in midair like she was some sort of plaything.

"Loki!" She screamed.

Waking with a start, she realized she was screaming his name, tears streaming down her face and heart racing.

She grabbed at her chest trying to control her breathing.

It had felt so real. It _was_ real. Clutching the covers, she released a shaky sigh and buried her head in her hands.

Frigga was right, he did have many dark sides. What had happened to him to make him this way?

More importantly, what was she going to do? She didn't have to stay here, she could return to Midgard for a while. He would forget about her, she knew. Or, she could stay and find out what Frigga saw in her version of the future. Inkeri knew deep down that she couldn't just leave it alone.

She looked at the clock and realized it was now midafternoon. Getting up, she walked into her bathing chambers and drew a bath. Settling in and finally relaxing a bit, she began to ponder on her nightmare.

Had she linked minds with Loki for a time, and maybe seen some sort of manifestation of what he was thinking? His emotions had been so strong in the dream, that it was a likely possibility. It was highly doubtful he had actually transformed into his Jotun form in front of everyone that morning, but she knew one thing for sure, though, there was definitely a hole in the wall of the stables now, and he was quite pleased about it.

She looked up at the ceiling, distractedly popping a bubble that had drifted into the air. One thing was for certain, if he was going to be helped, it wouldn't be from any sort of pity by her. He needed support, and maybe a swift kick in the pants. She smiled to herself. Spoiled brat on a power trip, that's what he was. He had always had that air of superiority about him. But still, she had sensed an overwhelming sadness and loneliness within him.

There was also the other problem of their physical attraction to one another. It was true, he was taken with her. She would be a fool not to see that. She also knew that it may be nearly impossible to help him if they became more than friends. Would he still respect her as much as he did now if she was his lover rather than his friend? No, probably not right now, she decided. He had some issues to work out first, and she needed to be able to be completely honest with him in everything. He deserved that much.

Inkeri's mind drifted to the invitation still sitting on the entryway table. She had promised to see him tonight and so she would. She only hoped he wouldn't be able to catch on to her deceptions.

Getting out of the bath and padding out into the bedroom, she began to lay out her clothes to get ready for the night.

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Inkeri took one last look in her mirror. She had opted for a deep green sleeveless long dress with a square neckline that cinched at the waist with a corset back. The corset strings were gold, and gold filigree details ran down the skirt. The only jewelry she wore was a golden arm cuff wound around her bicep in the shape of a serpent with peridot eyes. She had straightened her short hair and it was tucked elegantly behind her ears. Her eyes were lined in a dark chocolate kohl that flicked upwards at the edges, and her lips she had painted a deep warm mocha color. Her green eyes glimmered, and she looked dark and dangerous.

If this didn't distract him, she didn't know what would.

Exiting the house, she decided to walk to the palace, as it was close enough and it would give her time to clear her head sufficiently. She tried to fill it with all of the things he would be expecting from her- nervousness at seeing him again, excitement, longing. It wasn't hard to do.

Arriving at the palace doors, she nodded to the guards and they nodded back, letting her pass. A short stocky man servant met her in the front hall.

"Lady Geirdottir, honored scientist of the royal City of Asgard." He bowed with respect and she dipped her head to him.

"Please follow me." He gestured to her.

They walked for what seemed like forever through various halls of the golden palace, places she had never been privy to see before. She guessed they were the private quarters of the royal family. Finally stopping in front of a grand wooden door. The servant opened it for her and bowed his head, allowing her to walk though.

Inkeri stopped for a moment to take in her surroundings. It wasn't as big of a room as she thought it would be. There was a small dining table for maybe six people in the far right, next to a balcony with a glorious view of the city. On the left side of the room, there was a fireplace with a large book case and a deep, velvet green couch.

She looked up and saw him standing on the balcony with his back to her, hands clasped behind him. The cold grip of apprehension came over her for a brief moment, but she pushed it down, burying it for the moment with the rest of her feelings.

Quietly approaching him, she made her presence known.

"My prince." She whispered respectfully, and for once without any trace of sarcasm.

He startled for a split second and turned, obviously having been lost in thought.

His eyes as soon as he saw her told her that she had made the right choice in dress.

"My lady," he responded as he exhaled softly.

He took her hand and kissed it, looking up at her with a smirk.

"You look exquisite."

She blushed slightly, accidentally allowing a few of her emotions rise to the surface. It didn't help that he was so…Loki. This was going to be a lot harder than she thought.

"Thank you."

"Shall we?" He motioned to the dinner table.

She nodded, wondering how she would get through this night.

He pulled out her chair and they sat, he at the end of the table, and she on the corner right next to him. He angled his chair so that they could converse more easily.

Inkeri took a deep breath and watched the servants as they served a bowl of creamy soup. The delicious smells coming from the bowl indicated that it was mushroom, her favorite.

Taking her spoon, she began to slowly dip it in and out of the bowl.

"Well, well." His voice broke her mindless stirring. "You are uncharacteristically quiet tonight."

She looked up and smiled, winking.

"Perhaps I am lovesick and no longer able to function properly around you."

He laughed at that, but she saw a flash of something else in his eyes. Hope? Sadness? Disbelief perhaps.

She immediately decided not to joke about her feelings to him anymore.

"Actually, I've been working on an invention lately, but it seems as if I've come to a standstill in my research." She replied. It was the truth, kind of.

"Oh?" He responded, curious. "What is it? Perhaps I can help?"

"Well," she began, "I was working on a teleportation device, actually, that could transport a person from one realm to another, sort of like a smaller, more private version of the gateway opened by the Bifrost."

He laughed, stopping her for a moment.

"A 'more private' version of the Bifrost gateway? So that one could travel surreptitiously from one place to another?"

She grinned sheepishly. "Let's just say that this might be one of those projects that my colleagues never learn about."

Loki grinned widely at that. "Deceptive, I like it. Do continue darling."

She cleared her throat and smiled. "The problem with it, is that I can't seem to figure out how to generate enough power to make it work independently. The reason that our Bifrost works the way that it does, is because it channels one singular source of energy, the larger of our suns. It would be possible to make such a device to work on a trip to another realm, but opening a portal to return here or go somewhere else could be another problem entirely." She shrugged, finally tasting a bit of her soup. "I may not have an answer to it yet, but it is a puzzle I intend to solve."

He thoughtfully sipped at his wine, and then spoke.

"I'm curious, have you ever tried to use your powers to teleport to other worlds? Open a gateway to one?"

No, but you have, haven't you? She thought, reading the look upon his face.

"Yes, but much to my embarrassment, I'm not much good at teleportation in general. I can't seem to figure out exactly how to do it, and I have a horrible time concentrating every time I try." She admitted.

"Hmm," he mused, "If you have any spare time someday, perhaps I can show you how I do it." He offered.

"That would be wonderful!" She exclaimed, truly happy. "There are some places on Earth I want to show you. That is, if you want to see them."

He looked at her seriously.

"I could think of no better use of my free time than spending it with you."

She cocked her head and smiled at him, unconsciously reaching her hand out and resting it gently on top of his on the table, contemplating him.

She suddenly remembered herself and cleared her throat, removing her hand from his. Stay strong, she admonished herself.

"Loki," she began carefully, changing the subject, "Did you happen to go riding with your brother today?

He looked at her surprised.

"Yes, we ran our usual useless weekly perimeter check." he answered, "Why?"

Inkeri looked into his eyes for signs of any deception. She could find none.

"I, well, I had an odd dream. You were riding a horse with Thor and the Warriors Three. Then you were in the royal stables." She watched his face, and decided to push him a little bit to see what would happen.

"You were…sad, and angry. It felt so real."

His eyes were fearful for such a brief moment that anyone but her wouldn't have noticed it. So it had been real.

"Odd," he said smiling. "Dreams can be strange sometimes, can't they? I'm sorry if it disturbed you darling."

He was deflecting, she realized, and he was incredibly good at it.

This wasn't going to do, she thought. She had to break through his façade. Taking a huge risk, she pushed her soup aside and stood up, approaching him. He eyed her motions quizzically and she smiled. Putting both knees on either side of his chair, she gently sat down on his lap, facing him. His hands came up and he nervously gripped the arms of his seat, not knowing what she would do next. Looking up, she caught sight of his startled expression at her suggestive pose and she smirked. Softly, she touched his face and felt his breathing quicken. Sliding her fingers up through his hair, she gently massaged his scalp and rested her forehead on top of his, making a telepathic connection with him.

Then, she began to push her way in.

"Inkeri." He whispered out loud, trying to resist.

 _Please._ She pleaded.

Pushing further, she saw him on his ride. They had left him, he was lonely. After that, he was in the stable, thinking of his first mission with Thor. So that explained it. She saw Fandral, saw the others laughing. She felt his sadness. She felt his powerlessness when it came to Thor, his self-consciousness.

Suddenly his hands gripped her shoulders.

"Inkeri, no." He all but growled, cautioning her from seeing the rest.

"It's alright." She whispered, with her eyes closed, lowering her hands to caress his face again.

He swallowed hard and let down his guard. She pushed through his memories to see what he had done.

The hole in the stable wall. The fear from the servants, his feelings of power.

 _False power._ She warned.

After she had seen all that had occurred, she took him out of his memory and gently broke the connection opening her eyes. She realized they were wet. He slowly opened his and looked at her, his gaze dark and stormy.

"You tricked me." He said dangerously.

He had expected her to look upon him with pity, but instead her expression was unreadable.

"I had to know," She whispered.

"And now that you do? Now that you've experienced a taste of my true nature?"

She thought for a moment, and smiled.

"I still like you." Inkeri answered truthfully and leaned down, kissing his cheek.

She slowly crawled off of him and sat back down in her seat as he watched her in disbelief.

"Even though you saw what I did? I could hurt you." He said, emotionless. It wasn't meant to be a threat, it was just a fact.

"And I could hurt you. I could rip you apart at the atomic level, Loki. So what? Being lonely and angry and jealous doesn't make you a monster, those are natural emotions. It's what you do about them that matters." She responded, directing it back to him.

He looked down and nodded, contemplating all she had said.

"Why have you always been so kind to me?" He asked, not looking at her.

She thought about that for a minute.

"I see the potential you have, even though you don't, and I wouldn't be a very good friend if I just allowed you to suffer through life without pointing it out to you." She replied bluntly.

He looked back up at her thoughtfully. "Friend? As far as I can recall, friends don't sit on each other's laps the way you just sat on mine."

She laughed. "I'd apologize, but I'd be lying."

He smirked at her response, knowing full well she wasn't going to answer his underlying question at that moment, and so he left it alone.

"Well then, Lady Inkeri, let's see what's for dessert, shall we?"

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	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Inkeri sat back in her desk chair and gazed up at the ceiling for a moment. Nearly two weeks had passed since her last encounter with Loki. She had been busy with her work at the Ministry of Science, and he had been suspiciously quiet. She knew deep down that he wasn't just going to leave her be, not after their dinner together. She shook her head. He was probably up to something.

Yawning, she stretched and looked out the window of her little office that gave her a view of the academy right next door. She smiled, remembering her first day on those grounds, so many years ago.

"You are all here because you show exceptional skill in the scientific arts," Her headmaster had said, "Some of you may have magical ability, some of you may even have a warrior's training, but here, this day and every day forward, we are first and foremost scientists. We are engineers and tinkerers, inventors and questioners. Our life's work, whatever it may be, will attribute to the glory and advancement of all Asgard."

And so it was. Technologically speaking, they were amongst the most advanced races she had ever personally encountered. Strangely though, the grand majority of them were soldiers, born to lead in victorious battles.

A knock at her door interrupted her thoughts.

"Come in." She signaled.

Nothing happened, and a moment later, the knocking rang out again.

Inkeri rolled her eyes.

"I said enter!" She called a bit louder.

Nothing.

The persistent visitor knocked again, and an aggravated Inkeri pushed out of her chair and pulled the door open to find…nothing.

She looked around the hallway suspiciously.

"What the…"

Turning back around, she saw none other than Loki seated in her chair with his feet on the desk.

"Nice office. Rather small, but it has a charming appeal." He smiled like a naughty child at her.

Inkeri crossed her arms, trying to hide her amusement.

"I should've guessed it was you."

He shrugged his shoulders, still smiling and not bothering to move from his position.

"So, my prince, what brings you out of your magical dwellings down to a tiny office in the Ministry of Science?" She questioned him with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, a little bit of this and that." He replied cryptically as he began to play with a little figurine on her desk.

"What is this?" he asked, referring to the figurine of a dark haired pony tailed woman wearing a white tank top and orange pants. In her arms was a tiny white oval shaped gun.

"Her name is Chell and she's part of a simple Earth game I especially enjoy. Now," she said rapidly changing the subject, "What is it you're up to?"

He put the figure back down and linked his fingers together looking up at her.

"Why do I have to be 'up to something'? Can't I just come to visit my _friend_?" He asked slyly.

She shook her head at him, catching his reference. He was attempting to crumble away at her resolve piece by piece and unfortunately for her, it was working.

"Because you're you." She answered, laughing.

"Well, I suppose you're right about that." He agreed.

She pursed her lips and walked around over to her chair watching him wearily.

"Well, if you don't mind, I think I'll go home for the day." And with that she made the mistake of leaning over him to turn off her holographic computer projection.

In one swift move, he kicked his foot out, tripping her gently and making her yelp. As she fell into his lap, he caught her smoothly into his arms.

"Oh my, well I've never quite heard you make that noise before." He observed, laughing along with her.

"Damn you, Loki!" She exclaimed, giggling and trying to wriggle free from him.

His arms tightened around her and she ceased her struggling as she felt him lean up to hear ear from behind.

"Come to dinner with me and my friends tonight." He whispered in her ear.

Goosebumps traveled down her neck and she shivered.

Unable to speak a response, she closed her eyes and nodded.

He put his lips to her cheek and smiled, kissing it gently.

"Good." He replied, and vanished instantly, leaving her alone on the chair to think about what had just happened.

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A mere hour later, Inkeri found herself being led yet again through the winding corridors of the giant palace of Asgard.

This time, however, she was not taken to Loki's quarters as she had thought she would be, but to Thor's personal dining hall. Upon entering, she gasped, marveling at the grandness of it all. It was three times the size of Loki's and had a table that could seat a hundred people if necessary. No wonder Loki had inferiority issues, she thought.

Even though the hall was so large, there were only ten or so people who had arrived for the dinner. Inkeri saw Thor, laughing with his friends by the balcony window. There was Sif, regaling some story of a great battle where she had been the one to achieve victory. She also noted the way Thor looked at Sif, with total admiration and adoration. The Warriors Three were also there, naturally, and Volstagg greeted her politely as he passed her balancing a huge tray of food in this hand.

Looking to the corner of the room, she saw Loki leaning casually against the wall chatting with another man. By the emblems on his clothing, she gathered that he was a member of the royal guard. To her surprise, Loki was laughing with the man and actually looked truly at ease with him.

Inkeri smiled and approached the two.

Loki signaled for her to join them, reaching down to her hand and gently tucking it inside of his own.

"Inkeri, I'd like you to meet one of my oldest friends from childhood, Kaapo."

She smiled and stretched out her free hand to Kaapo who took it, bowing his head in greeting.

"Kaapo," She said his name thoughtfully. "Yes, I do remember seeing you in the palace from time to time, however I don't think we have been formally introduced. I am pleased to finally meet you."

"And I you my lady." Kaapo responded with a twinkle in his eye. "It is nice to finally meet the woman that my good friend is carrying on about all the time."

Inkeri laughed and looked to Loki.

Loki let go of her hand to point a finger playfully at Kaapo. "I? Carrying on about a lady? Perhaps you have had too much wine and are confusing me with you, old friend."

She turned to Kaapo, laughing. "So you mean to tell me that you willingly have put up with him all of these years?"

Kaapo nodded and looked around shiftily, cupping his hand to his mouth, pretending to whisper a secret.

"Yes, don't tell him, but they actually pay me."

Loki rolled his eyes and shoved his friend gently.

"Oh come off, they should pay me for having taken you in."

Inkeri looked over to Kaapo, obviously confused by Loki's statement.

He understood her facial expression, and explained, "You see, I was orphaned as a baby during the battle of Jotenhiem. And, let's set the record straight," he looked at Loki for a brief second, " _you_ didn't take me in, your parents did. They were kind enough to let me be raised by one of Loki's wet nurses and then later, grow up here in the palace."

"How wonderful," Inkeri responded sincerely.

Kaapo nodded. "I even was given the opportunity to be a member of the royal guard. Their kindness has given me the opportunity to have a life instead of having none."

Inkeri's gaze shifted to Loki and he smiled at her, displaying only happiness toward his friend.

Moments later, the dinner bell rang and the guests went to be seated. Loki slid up beside her and put her arm in his, whispering in her ear. "Come, you are my special guest. You will sit with my brother and me at the head of the table."

She followed him, and sat down at his left, with Thor on his right. Fandral was in front of her, and Sif in front of Loki. Fandral nodded at her, flashing one of his lady killer grins. Inkeri smiled back, and looked at Loki who was pretending not to notice.

 _Darling, your inner beast in showing._

Inkeri thought ironically to herself that maybe she shouldn't have said that.

 _I cannot stand him! He looks at you like he wishes to claim you like some sort of prize._

She smiled.

 _And you don't?_

He was silent at that, but she couldn't help but notice a smirk creeping up the corners of his lips.

"My friends, it is a pleasure to have you all here at my dinner table tonight, in celebration of my upcoming coronation." Thor declared. He was in a jolly mood, but Inkeri sensed that he was also slightly nervous.

"And, thank you all for waiting until the food was served before eating!" Thor gave a humored look to Volstagg who had clearly been eating the whole time.

He stopped, mid bite and pulled the chicken leg out of his mouth, wagging it at Thor.

"I'll have you know, highness, that I was about to expire of starvation. I could not help myself."

He continued eating seriously as the whole group burst into laughter.

Fandral caught Inkeri's eye and he smoothly took her hand in his.

"A smile so sweet, I have never seen in all my years."

Inkeri felt Loki bristle.

"Fandral," Thor cautioned, "I think it would be wise not to pursue Loki's lady, lest you wake up one morning and find yourself entering the gates of Valhalla a little early."

Fandral feigned surprise and offered an apology. "Well, my lady, I am sorry, for I did not know. The prince's lady friends come and go, usually rather quickly. I figured you were of a caliber too high for his tastes."

Fandral said it with no malice, but he obviously did not realize the effect he was having upon Loki.

Inkeri felt his rage begin to boil over. Before he could say anything, she responded, "I belong to no man, and I am no one's lady but my own, Fandral. Do take care to remember that, or I will do worse to you then send you knocking on the gates to Valhalla."

Sif's laugh rang out and she held her goblet high! "Here, here!" She agreed and they all merrily toasted to her.

Inkeri felt Loki's rage subsiding, but what replaced it was not calmness, rather, his mind was blank. He had closed her off.

She sighed and reached under the table, attempting to slide her hand into his, but he gently pulled away and began a conversation with his brother.

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They left the dinner together that night, silently walking through the corridors. Inkeri had her fingers to her lips, wanting to speak so badly, but not finding the right words to say.

"I will walk you home." Loki more suggested than commanded.

She nodded and took his arm.

"Loki, I…" she began and then stopped.

Her feelings were strong, and she knew he could probably sense them, yet he would not look at her.

"Yes? You what?" He replied, rather impatiently.

She broke from her thoughts. So he was going to play that game. With a furious look on her face, she pulled at his arm, stopping him there in the hallway.

"Wait a moment, are you sulking?"

His cast a chagrined look in her direction. Wrenching his arm from her grasp, he continued to walk.

"Leave me be."

She growled and reached out her hand, gently pushing him against the wall with her powers to stop him.

"No! Tell me what's wrong with you."

He looked down at his immobile body, trying not to become amused. She was a strong little thing. With a huff, he pulled free and continued walking.

"I'll have my servant bring you home."

Trying a different tactic, she pushed into his mind. He stopped cold and turned, glowering down at her menacingly. He didn't stop her, however. Of course he wanted her to see, wanted her to feel just as poorly about the whole situation as he did.

"Let it go!" He commanded. "You belong to no one, remember?"

"Oh, Loki," She whispered, her eyes pained for him. "Does it have to be that black and white?"

"DO NOT PITY ME!" He roared.

Inkeri grew indignant.

"I don't! I could not pity a selfish, spoiled brat like you, and furthermore, how dare you presume what my feelings are toward you? I think you enjoy feeling sorry for yourself." She replied calmly and coldly.

He gritted his teeth. "I wouldn't have to presume anything if you actually had any feelings."

He watched in horror as her face fell, eyes beginning to well up with tears. Oh how he regretted those words as soon as they had left his mouth.

"Inkeri, I…" He trailed off, not knowing what to say.

She looked away from him, wringing her hands. Finally she spoke, her voice breaking.

"If you really think that, then you don't know me at all." She whispered sadly.

She bowed her head.

"Goodnight my prince."

And with that, she quickly walked out, not bothering to look back and see the misery etched upon his face.

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	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Samantha stood in her kitchen scooping out a bit of kibble for the small dog running around and in between her legs.

"There you go, my sweet little Jasper."

He yapped in appreciation and dug in ferociously.

Samantha chuckled and watched him lovingly. He was all she had, with her husband being long gone, and her children living across the states in California.

A knock sounded on the door and she walked over to answer it. There stood Inkeri, disheveled and miserable, strangely wearing the same thing she had on last time Samantha saw her.

"Keri!" She exclaimed. "I was wondering when you would come back to visit me, child. Come in, sit down."

Inkeri smiled slightly and hugged the older woman, moving inside the apartment and sinking into a kitchen chair with a sigh.

Samantha knew something was up the moment she saw her.

"So, how are things, you know, up north with the parents?" She asked carefully.

Inkeri crossed her arms around herself, as if she was holding her upper body for comfort.

"Oh, they are wonderful actually. My father is a…lawyer, so we have wonderful debates with one another, and my mother and I have been puttering around in her garden. How have things been here?" She asked, casually looking at her nails.

Samantha smiled. "They've been great. So what's his name and what did he do? Or maybe should I ask, what did you do?"

Inkeri scoffed looking over at her friend.

"How do you do that?"

"You are much too obvious, dear. Now, go on, tell me what happened while I brew some tea for us."

Inkeri sat for a moment and gathered her thoughts.

"Well, we have a lot of chemistry, but he is, um, he's got some baggage to work out. From what I have gathered, he didn't exactly have an easy childhood."

Samantha nodded. "To be fair, we've all got baggage, darling. But, you say you have chemistry? Is it like fireworks when you kiss chemistry or 'I mixed bleach with ammonia' chemistry?"

Inkeri rubbed her neck and looked down.

"I haven't kissed him. We've been friends since we were children for Nor- I mean, heaven's sake. Only now it's become a lot more than that. I don't even know how to describe it. We quarreled before I left to come back here, about how I feel, or rather, don't feel about him. He can be so infuriatingly haughty sometimes, and yet he is also so very sensitive in his own way."

Samantha looked at her pointedly. "You haven't kissed the boy for heaven's sake? Dear, this is not 1950. And why have you been holding back?"

Inkeri snickered at that. "After all that, all you can think about is the kissing? Well, I just thought that I could assist him with his problems better if I wasn't so attached. If he wasn't so attached to me."

"Hmm, I think it's too late for that. Looks to me like you're falling in love with him."

Inkeri groaned and broke eye contact with her.

"Sam, he's been back in my life for two weeks. I've only seen him a total of four or five times since I returned home."

"Doesn't matter. Roger and I fell in love the moment we saw each other. Does he love you?"

Inkeri put her head in her hands. "No, maybe, I don't know. This whole thing is ridiculous!"

Samantha laughed. "Well of course you don't know, because you haven't even kissed him yet."

"Ugh, why does this have to be so difficult?"

"It doesn't. Just lean your face up to his and put your lips together."

Inkeri turned red, burying her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with laughter.

"Oh stop it, would you?" She laughed as Samantha chuckled at her.

Jasper, sensing her frustration, hopped around her legs, yipping. Inkeri smiled and picked him up, holding him in her lap.

"Keri," Samantha began, "You seem to be taking a very logical approach to your relationship with him. Have you ever thought that maybe all he needs is just you? Think of it this way, maybe if you were in his shoes, you would need someone to rationally guide you through your issues. But maybe for him, he just needs someone to share his emotions with."

The truth hit Inkeri like a ton of bricks and she sat there dazed.

"Sam, I insinuated to another man in front of him that I didn't care for him, and then after that I called him a selfish spoiled brat and told him that he enjoyed feeling sorry for himself."

Samantha clucked her tongue and shook her head. "Well, well, you've gotten yourself into a fine mess haven't you?"

"Yes, and there's more."

"Oh?"

Inkeri looked down at her hands.

"I've learned a terrible secret about his family, one that could destroy him. You see, he was adopted as a baby, but he does not know."

Samantha furrowed her brow. "You mean his parents never told him?"

Inkeri shook her head. "No one knows. I do not think that his older brother even knows. What is more, the details of his adoption are rather shrouded in mystery. I myself discovered it by accident while at his home one night. Ever since then, the fact that I have not told him has weighed heavily upon my conscience. Every time I see him, it's there, eating away at me. I don't wish to be dishonest with him, but I fear that it is not my place to say anything."

Samantha shook her head. "What a horrible thing for him. I sure hope his parents have a darn good reason for behaving like that. And I'm sorry you got caught up in all of it. New love should be simple and exciting."

"But it's all a huge mess." Inkeri concluded.

Samantha put the sugar and cream down in front of her. "Is he a good man, Keri?"

"Yes," She whispered. "Deep down, he is good. I believe that whole heartedly. He would never hurt me. Oh Sam, what am I supposed to do?" She looked to Samantha pleadingly as she poured her some fresh tea.

The woman smiled. "That my dear, is completely up to you. But if you really want my advice, I still think you should kiss him."

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Loki entered his chambers after a long day of sitting at his father's side, watching as he delegated land disputes and other trivial matters. Occasionally, Odin would lean towards him, and ask what he would do to resolve the issue. Sometimes he took his son's advice, other times he didn't. Thor would have been the king's first choice for the task, however, he had gone to Vanaheim to settle a problem with rebel raiders in some of the outer cities.

Shedding his long, dark green formal overcoat, he flung it onto the bed, sliding into his reading chair with his head in his hands. It had been three days since he had talked to Inkeri and it was driving him insane. He kept recalling her face the night that she had left. He had never seen her cry before, and he hated that he had been the cause of it. He should have apologized to her right then and there.

At that, his train of thought came to a dead halt as he angrily slammed his fist down on the arm of the chair. What had she done to him? How dare she make him feel culpable? This whole mess was her fault, and besides, he apologized to no one! He was a royal prince of Asgard and she…she hadn't spoken to him in seventy-two hours.

He stood and began to pace. He wasn't even sure if she was in the city anymore. He couldn't sense her presence anywhere. She could be staying on Midgard again.

As if on cue in an answer to his troubled questions, a light flashed in his window, indicating the activation of the Bifrost. Walking over and peering out, he saw a lone figure emerge from the gate area on a horse, a small woman with short hair.

Relief flooded his chest, and he smiled smugly as he watched her horse canter slowly down the bridge towards the city. So she had returned.

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Inkeri pulled back on the reigns of her horse for a brief moment on the rainbow bridge. Although she didn't mind making the journey home on foot, her parents had sent it earlier that day, expecting her return. She turned her eyes to look up at Loki's balcony window. She could sense him there, watching. She wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Nudging the old gelding with her feet, he took it as a cue to start moving again, making his way off the bridge and onto the street that would carry them home.

Inkeri let her thoughts propel her far away as they passed through the town. She had decided that she would speak with him, when she had the chance. If he still wanted to speak with her. And if not, well, that would be his loss. What she would say when the time came, however, was something she hadn't quite figured out yet.

They finally approached her home, and she dismounted, leading the horse to their small stable, where a young servant girl was waiting to receive him. Turning from them, she walked up the steps to the front door and opened it, immediately spying her mother in the sitting room.

"Hello, dear!" Called Asta, who was lounging in her chair with a book. "How was your trip? Everything still alright with your Samantha?"

Inkeri hugged her mother's shoulders.

"Yes, mother, she is well."

Asta smirked at her daughter, knowing full well why she had gone to Earth, even though she hadn't let on. Inkeri had seemingly forgotten how close her mother and the queen were.

"Wonderful. Oh, darling, before you begin your day at the Ministry tomorrow, your father has asked that you take this to the prince for him." Asta handed her a very old historical book of ancient laws and cultural practices that had been sitting on the table next to her. "Or perhaps you could do so tonight. All I know is that he had borrowed it from the royal library quite some time ago, and that the prince has expressed his desire to have it returned as soon as possible."

Inkeri swallowed nervously. "Which prince?" Although she knew full well that Thor had no such books in his collection-if he even had time to read any books at all.

Asta grinned. "Why Prince Loki of course. You two are such good friends, there should be no issue with paying him a visit, right?"

"No mother, of course not." Inkeri took the book and forced out a smile.

"Good, well I'm off to my chambers. Your father will be back late tonight, so I had the maid leave him some supper on the stove. Feel free to have some as well, if you are hungry."

"Alright, mother." Inkeri watched her rise and go, and then looked down at the book in her hands, letting her thoughts run amok. Well, at least she had an excuse to see him now. She hoped it wasn't too soon. Oh, what an awkward situation! What if she went there and he wouldn't see her, and she only ended up embarrassing herself, and him, and well, if he didn't want to see her then that would be his problem. But, he was a prince, even if he was spoiled, and it really was his prerogative to-

Groaning, she regained control of her mind, and threw the book down on the chair. Why did this have to be so difficult? The whole situation was out of control. This- whatever it was- that was going on between the two of them needed to stop, she decided with a firm nod. Everything would be much, much easier that way.

Swiftly grabbing up the book again, she knew what she had to do. Running out her door, she made her way down the path to the palace, cutting through the gardens and sneaking in through one of the servants' doors. Disguising herself with invisibility, she retraced her steps from the night she went to Loki's dining room and, passing it, came to the next door in the line-his chambers.

Knocking gently, her heart began to race. This had seemed like such a good idea only mere moments ago. She suddenly hoped he wasn't there.

Inkeri was just about to give up and leave when the door opened a crack and she looked up to see him peering down at her.

"Lady Geirdottir." He said formally. "How like you to come see me unannounced. How may I help you? Please, though, make it quick. If you don't mind, I am a little busy feeling sorry for myself tonight."

Inkeri rolled her eyes, immediately losing all nervousness. At least he wasn't turning her away.

"My most benevolent prince," She curtsied, continuing the charade of formality. "I do apologize for presenting myself to you without a formal invitation, but there are some things that I wish to say to you before I lack the courage to do so at all. Please, may I seek audience with you?"

His glare turned to a look of wary sadness. Considering her for a moment, he nodded once and stepped aside, letting her pass through the door.

Inkeri fought a gasp as she looked around his bedroom. It was opulent and masculine, adorned in his usual emeralds and golds. Unlike the usual Asgardian golden splendor, the room was dark and warm. The entire wall to the right of his bed was lined with huge book cases, and in front of them was his desk and a comfortable sitting chair-oddly the same one she saw in their first telepathic connection those many weeks ago. On his plush bed lay a lone jacket, thrown on top of the velvety green coverlet, and directly in front of it on the opposite wall, was a grand fireplace.

"You have beautiful quarters." She observed, still in awe of everything.

"Is that what you came here to tell me?" He asked bitterly.

She cleared her throat, and absent mindedly crossed the room to set the book in her hands on his desk. "No. I came to, to say that…"

He followed her to where she stood and crossed his arms. "If you came to apologize to me, Inkeri, then please leave. I could care less about any of it."

She turned to face him, fire in her eyes. How dare he insinuate that this was her fault?

"I didn't come to apologize." She growled.

"Then what did you come here for?" He yelled, knocking the book to the floor in a fit of anger.

She watched it fall, rage rising from the pit of her stomach up to her throat.

"I don't know!" She yelled back. "I thought we could have a normal conversation, and sort this out."

Stiffining, he turned from her, looking towards the window.

"And by sort this out, you mean what?"

"I mean, I mean that, this whole thing, well, it's just that-" She stopped speaking, trying to formulate words. Uncharacteristically for her, they weren't coming.

He twisted back around and regarded her, all of the anger suddenly gone out of him, and his next words completely dampening her ire.

"It's alright." He murmured dispiritedly. "Just say it."

The moment their eyes reconnected, a bolt of lightening sharp clarity hit her like a sock to the gut. It was as if all of the pieces of their lives had fallen into place to produce a picture of this exact moment, this very place in time where everything would change forever. That was when she knew, deep down, what she had really come there to say. And the best part, the most amazing thing about all of it, was that it was not brought about by a feeling of mere pity for the dejected prince in front of her, nor was it bourne along by some sense of childish obligation. No, this-this was something much deeper.

Inkeri took a deep breath and approached him slowly, reaching out to one of his hands that hand gone from being crossed into his arms in defiance to hanging limply at his sides in defeat. She held his large hand in her small one, and softly traced the line of his palm all the way up to the tips of his fingers. He watched her, confusion in his eyes, as she brought his palm up to her cheek, and leaned into it with a sigh.

 _Loki._ She didn't take her eyes off his as she began to whisper into his thoughts.

He swallowed hard. Couldn't she see that she was driving him mad?

She let her hand fall from his, which stayed where it was. She smirked and drew closer to him, reaching out to run her fingers through his hair.

"Tell me." He pleaded softly, his expression filled with a deep vulnerability that she had never seen before. Gone was his jesting, puffed up arrogance, and deception. At this point, he was just a man, lost in her eyes, and terrified of rejection.

Taking a deep breath, she continued.

 _I'll never forget the first time I saw you._

He smiled, and his thoughts took them to their first prank together those many years ago.

She grinned and shook her head.

 _No, not quite, that happened a little bit after._ She began to project an image of him, he was a younger child there, seated atop of a book case in the palace library.

 _Father had come to the palace one day to seek counsel with a close friend in your father's court in regards to an upcoming trial that he was to assist in. So badly did I bother him to bring me with him that he finally relented, instructing me to wait outside of his office while he conversed with his friend. Of course as soon as he went inside, I took off like a shot, poking into areas of the palace, going this way and that. I wanted to see everything. That's when I opened the library door and saw you. Immediately I knew who you were. It was not hard to connect your face with the pictures embroidered all over the palace tapestries._

He took in the scene through her as she watched him quietly, not wishing for him to discover her.

 _You were sitting up there, reading a book that was years beyond what anyone could read in our level, holding it with one hand, and making notes on great big a piece of parchment sitting next to you._

They both laughed, breaking her connection.

"And I thought you were the smartest boy I'd ever seen." She continued aloud, her smile sincere. "And then when we were adolescents, we made so much mischief together, I thought you were the most funny, clever person I knew."

He leaned in more to her then, his fingers leaving her cheek and reaching up to slide through her hair. He pulled her face closer to his.

"And now?" He whispered, searching her expression intently.

She licked her lips nervously, her eyes still locked with his.

"And now," She answered simply, "All I've been able to think about since the summer festival is what it would be like to kiss you."

Before he could do or say anything, she leaned forward, bridging the gap between them. The second her lips captured his, she felt his arms around her, pulling her closer. She reciprocated in kind, trailing her fingers up the back of his neck, and tilting her head to deepen the kiss. Warmth spread slowly through her veins and suddenly she was acutely aware of everything- his hands on her back, the feel of his upper body against hers, the way he tasted of winter and ice and mulled wine. She felt like a bolt of electricity had hit her and surged from her lips all the way down to her feet.

She couldn't help but grin uncontrollably onto his mouth. Samantha would be delighted.

Loki smiled back and opened his eyes, not bothering to pull away, but instead leaning his forehead onto hers.

"Well that was unexpected." He murmured.

She giggled softly. "You mean the part where I confessed that I have feelings for you or the part where I kissed you?"

He kissed her this time, picking her up with great care and sitting them both down in his reading chair, with her on his lap.

"I don't quite remember the part where you said you had feelings for me, darling."

She leaned her head on his shoulder and looked up at him.

"Oh? Maybe you should listen more carefully, then." She answered with a grin.

He snickered and looked down at her, realizing he was experiencing a kind of contentment that he had never felt before. So this is what it felt like to be wanted? To be needed?

She reached over to his hand and laced her fingers into his own and sighed happily.

"Loki, what are we doing? What is all of this?" She mused.

"Well, I think that we just kissed, it was electrifying, and now I am carrying out the fantasy that you had of me when we first locked minds."

She sat up for a moment, realizing what he had done, and leered playfully at him.

"Sly fox. You know what I mean."

He chuckled, reaching out to run his fingers through her hair.

"I've been called many things, but a fox was never one of them. I think I quite like it."

She shook her head with a smile, and watched him expectantly. He teased her with his silence a little more before he finally began to speak.

"All I can say, my beautiful Inkeri, is that you are, without a doubt, the most intriguing, intelligent, breathtaking woman I have ever had the privilege of knowing. And _I_ have wanted to kiss _you_ from the moment you tipped that juice over into poor Thor's lap."

Her mouth dropped and she took him in with glittering eyes. He wasn't lying about that.

"Then I'm glad you finally got to, Silvertongue." She responded, wrapping her arms around his neck, and nuzzling her face into the top of his chest.

They sat there that way for quite some time until Loki's gaze drifted over to the all but forgotten book lying in shambles on the floor and he broke the silence.

"What is that book you brought here, anyway?"

She looked up and over at it.

"Oh, my father, he borrowed your book and I was returning it. At least, that was my excuse for coming here."

He laughed. "Well, your father must be mistaken, because that is not my book."

Inkeri's eyes widened as she put two and two together.

"Well, it seems as if our mothers have had a hand in this." She chuckled.

He grinned, and tilted her chin up to him, kissing her sweetly.

"Remind me to thank them later."

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	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"The portal will be open to you for five seconds only."

The ice was especially thick this time of year on Jotenheim. Blizzard air swirled around the two Jotnar as they stood in the cave, their wild red eyes glowing, wearing nothing but loin cloths over blue, delineated skin.

The blurry visage continued to speak. "You must hurry, but it will open directly from here to the vault. You will have three minutes to take what you wish and leave."

The larger of the two beast-like creatures bared his fangs and turned to address his cohort. "How do we know this is not a trap?" He growled in his guttural Jotun tongue.

"You do not." Their shadowy consort responded in perfect Jotun-speak, causing them both to look up sharply. "However, I can assure you that I, just as you, do not wish to see that bumbling buffoon Odinson crowned as king. He will wreak havoc upon the Nine with his thirst for pointless violence. Take my offer or leave it, but I will let you know that I am growing impatient. I will not hesitate to go to another of Odin's enemies."

The two Jotnar bore their fangs and pounded their chests with a closed left fist, in a show of defiance to the speaker.

It laughed at them. "You savages are all the same. Do you wish to possess the Casket or not?"

The larger Frost Giant hissed, but slowly let his hand drop. "We wish to have it, yes."

"Good. Then I shall be expecting you."

With that, the obscure figure dissolved into a snowy cloud, leaving the two alone, as if it were never there.

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Inkeri woke up in a cold sweat for the third time that week. As of late, her dreams had been disjointed and bizarre. She wondered sadly if it was because of the horrible secret that she bore. The month or so since she had found out had passed by excruciatingly slowly. It was always there, the crushing weight of the guilt of what she knew, every time she saw him, every time she kissed him and he held her, every time they linked minds, threatening to break free. She was amazed that she had been able to hide it this long.

Untangling herself from her bed covers, and slipping into her sandals, she snuck quietly to the front of the house and through the door. It was the dead of night, but she didn't care. She felt like she was going to explode. Following an old dirt path out of the city, she quickly came to the forest she had spent much of her childhood playing in. Hitting a tree trunk with the flat of her palm, she yelled out into the darkness, sinking down to her knees as her tears threatened to break free. She wasn't sure how long she could go on living this lie. She thought disgustedly of what she had seen of Odin as he went on with the deception, stringing his "son" up like a puppet to vie for his attention, only to let him come so far before turning him away every single time. And Frigga, their altruistic queen. They hadn't spoken since that day in the gardens. She realized bitterly Frigga was perhaps the only of the two that did love Loki dearly, but clearly not enough to see how this would destroy him.

Or did she? Inkeri wondered. Then she supposed that there was no use speculating about any of it now.

Cradling her head in her hands, she sighed, still kneeling in the dirt. She was just as bad as all of them, really, walking around like nothing was wrong, while the man she cared for greatly, was in reality a Frost Giant. It was madness. She just hoped that one day when this all exploded in their faces he would understand his heritage mattered not to her. She had considered telling him, of course, but the gravity of the situation was too great. She had no idea what would happen if he knew.

Riddled with indecision, Inkeri wiped her face with sleeve of her night dress and stood, finally opening her eyes. Fear crept into her chest as she took in the scene directly in front of her. There, not six feet away, stood a lone dire wolf, watching her intently with its glowing green eyes. The animal was a full grown, nearly six feet in length, and one of the largest she had ever seen. It sat down, and began to calmly lick one of its paws like some great big domestic dog. Inkeri slowed her breathing, and she tried to remain calm. Still facing it, she began to back away very slowly.

As she moved away, the wolf immediately stopped. She froze, never taking her eyes off of it. It looked at her curiously for a moment, and then turned on its hind legs and ran, presumably in the direction from whence it had come. Letting out a sigh of relief, Inkeri picked up the bottom of her night gown with shaking hands and began to race back down the path to her home. She had been lucky the beast had not attacked her right then and there.

Silently creeping through the door, she made her way back to her bed and pondered on what had just happened. As terrifying as the incident was, it had at least served as a distraction from her current problems. She sighed.

Loki.

Things had certainly changed between the two of them. It wasn't just the kiss that had done it, either, although that had helped. Not nearly a day had gone by since that he hadn't made some sort of effort to see her, or leave some sort of teasing note in her office. Once it was even a flower that had magically appeared on her windowsill. He was so smitten with her that it was impossible for him to see the conflict raging within her.

And sadly, the only person that could make her feel better at the moment was him.

She sat down on the bed and leaning up against the pillows, she closed her eyes and pushed her thoughts and memories from the woods deep into the dark recesses of her mind. Only then did she seek out Loki, wondering if he was sleeping. He was often up this late, reading into the wee hours of the night.

She grinned as she made a connection and briefly saw images of a book being read through his eyes.

 _Are you reading romance novels again?_

She laughed out loud, feeling Loki's slight surprise at her pushing around in his head at this late hour.

 _Hmph. If I were, darling, I promise you'd be the last to know. Why are you up at this hour?_

Her smile faded.

 _I'm sorry, I couldn't sleep. I'll leave you to get back to your reading._

She broke the tie with him before he could protest and let out a breath of frustration. What would she tell him anyways?

"You know, it's actually quite obvious when something's bothering you." Spoke out a voice in the darkness from the corner of her bedroom.

Inkeri jumped.

"Loki!" she hissed, "I hate it when you do that!"

He laughed, pleased with himself, and stepped out of the shadows. She raised her eyebrows in appreciation as she noticed he wore nothing but his long, black trousers and a loose dark green tunic, unbuttoned halfway down his chest.

"Now I really won't be able to sleep." She whispered to herself, but loud enough for him to hear.

He sat down on the edge of her bed, grinning, eyeing her curiously…much like the dire wolf had from earlier. Her eyes widened as she had a thought, causing the fear to rise in her chest yet again.

"Can you project yourself as an animal?" She questioned him nervously.

He looked at her strangely.

"Is that why you're up so late? I suppose I could. Why?"

She shook her head. This was becoming ridiculous. She was so exhausted from living with the constant anxiety and paranoia of the fact that she could, at any time, crack into pieces in front of him. "No reason. Just a random thought that popped into my mind."

He leaned in, one hand above her head, resting it on the headboard behind her. He was still grinning, his mouth hovering dangerously close to hers. "Tell me, darling, what other random things tend to pop into your mind?"

She sighed shakily, releasing some of her worry and lifting her hands up, she wound her fingers through his hair. "Loki, if my father found you in here, prince or not, he'd kill you."

His laugh was deep and masculine as his lips crushed into hers. He pulled her up into his chest and held her around her waist, barely letting her come up for air. Not minding the position at all, she pushed back into him wholeheartedly, still clutching his hair in her hands. He groaned and regretfully pulled away.

"Woman, I swear, by the Norns, you will be the death of me."

She grinned and kissed his nose, pulling him down onto the bed with her. "Then what a glorious death it will be."

He lay down and she plopped next to him on her stomach. He had to laugh at her childish position, head in her hands, feet swinging in the air.

"I apologize if I am a tease, but you were the one who came to my bedroom, with your shirt half unbuttoned." She pointed an accusatory finger at his chest, still grinning.

"Ha, and how sorry you truly look about it, my darling." He responded with a good natured roll of his eyes.

She sidled up to him and laid her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. "But you are such a gentleman, for the most part." She admitted sleepily.

He lay in silence for what felt like forever, but finally he spoke. "That is because, you are meant to be a queen, Inkeri, and I would not defile you so."

She sat up abruptly, now fully awake, and looked him in the eye, blurting out the first thing that popped into her head. "Well, I'm not marrying your brother, if that's what you're insinuating."

He smiled and reached up to run a hand through her disheveled hair. "I should hope not, for your sake." He responded halfheartedly.

What was he getting at? Inkeri wondered. That he wasn't good enough for her? Or was he simply carrying out the royal traditions out of respect to her? If it was the latter, was he implying that he actually wanted to marry her someday? She opened her mouth and shut it a few times, trying to decide which question to ask him first.

He noticed her expression and laughed, pulling her head back down to his chest.

"Enough of this conversation. I'll stay until you fall asleep."

She sighed, snuggling into him. "Loki I want you to know that I've never met anyone like you. You amaze me every single day, and you make me laugh. I wouldn't want to be with anyone else."

He looked down at her sadly. "You wouldn't say that if you knew what I was really capable of. Who I really am on the inside. Sometimes, I don't even know myself."

He was usually so private about his innermost, deepest feelings, and if he were honest with himself, his personality even puzzled him at times.

"Loki," Inkeri began, "We are all capable of great good or great evil. I don't believe in fate, and I think the Norns are nothing but a silly trio of old charlatans that love to stir things up with their 'prophecies'. What I do believe is that we all must chose who we want to be, even if there are parts of ourselves that frighten us."

"Do you believe that my good side can win out over my bad?" He whispered, gazing at her intently.

She looked up, cupping his cheek and answered him honestly. "Of course, as long as you work hard at it. Anything is possible, really. Unless you tell yourself it isn't."

He smiled at her then, and she realized how much he needed positive affirmation. He was hanging by such a thin thread, and no one but her seemed to realize it.

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Later on that day, Inkeri and Loki stood in one of the many fields just outside of the castle walls. He watched her, amused, as she wrung her hands, her eyes closed in deep concentration.

"I can't do it!" She finally opened her eyes and yelled, frustrated.

Loki approached her and wrapped his long arms around her waist from behind. Inkeri smiled and closed her eyes, leaning back into him.

"Now I definitely can't do it." She muttered.

He leaned down and whispered into her ear. "Close your eyes. Concentrate. Imagine yourself here, with me, in the field. Think about how the grass feels beneath your feet, the wind against your body."

She slowed her breathing and nodded. "I have it."

"Good," He continued, and looked ahead of them for a landmark. He spotted a large pond in the distance, a good mile away. "Now, you've seen the pond. Think about transferring your energy from here to there."

They stood there like that for a great long while.

"Inkeri?" he questioned inquisitively.

"Hmm? Are we there?" She opened her eyes, not surprised to see that they hadn't budged.

"No," Loki replied, "What were you doing?"

She laughed. "I wasn't really concentrating, I was just enjoying this."

She felt the palms of his hands snake across her flat stomach, pushing her closer to him. He dipped down and began to kiss the crook of her neck softly, causing goosebumps to form on her upper torso.

"How do you do that to me?" She whispered.

He felt her connect with him and she showed him all of the sensations she was feeling. His hands gripped at her dress and for a brief moment, she felt his restraint slip ever so slightly.

 _Inkeri._ He whispered desperately into her mind. _Let's try to concentrate at the task at hand, shall we?_

 _Alright, as much as I would like to see you lose control._ Her voice taunted back merrily into his head.

He shook his head, grinning, and moved his hands up, placing them on both sides of her head in an attempt to center her. _Now, perhaps you should think about this scientifically. Visualize yourself, standing right here with me. Think about everything in your body that defines your physical makeup. Think about where we are right now, and what it would take to bend enough space to transfer yourself to the pond. Think about breaking yourself down on the cellular level, and then reenergizing in another place. Do not worry about your consciousness, it will stay in-tact throughout the ordeal._

Inkeri nodded and her breathing slowed again. They stood there again for quite some time in the quiet, soft afternoon breeze. He was just about to ask her if she was concentrating again when, in that very instant, something strange began to happen. The tall grass of the field where they stood which had been swaying ever so slightly in the wind seemed to freeze. The trees around them in the clearing went dead still, and even the birds in the sky hung in suspended animation, as if they had been painted into the atmosphere. Loki began to frantically look around them. It was as if, in that very moment, time had stood still. Then, as quickly as it had begun, it ended. There was a loud pop and he saw nothing but a bright flash of yellow light, and then dark water all around them. Pushing up through the water, which was deep enough for them to swim in, he broke the surface, seeing her come up at nearly the same time as himself. Sputtering, they both swam up to the shore, drenched and exhausted.

"Darling," Loki began, as he lay out on the gravel, panting. "I meant take us to the pond, not drop us in it!"

Inkeri lay on her belly, coughing up water and giggling all at the same time.

"I'm sorry, love, I guess my aim was off." She laughed even harder at the sight of him sitting there like a petulant drowned rat, his inky hair stuck to his face.

Loki eyed her curiously. Love? She had never called him that before. He dismissed it as merely a pet name and crawled up to some dry grass, situating himself on his back and gazing up at the sky.

"Well," he said, "I suppose you'll just have to keep practicing. Perhaps somewhere less wet."

She stood and walked up to his side, plopping down next to him.

"It was rather rough wasn't it?" She laughed.

Rough wasn't the word to describe it, Loki thought. The whole experience was more odd than anything else. He turned his head to her, watching as she traced shapes into the clouds with her finger. He wondered, if for a split second, she had folded time. It had certainly seemed like it. It had also seemed like she'd had no idea what had befallen them in the brief seconds before their teleport. He figuratively shook his head at the notion. Such a thing would be impossible, even for her. The ordeal was more likely the side effect of some very, very poor teleportation skills.

"I'm sure you will improve, in time." He assured her.

She let her hand drop and turned onto her side, facing him.

"And then, when I do get better, you'll teach me how to open portals to other realms?"

He raised an eyebrow at her and smirked. "Unfortunately, sweetling, not even I know how to do that."

She shook her head with an amused look. "Of course not, what was I thinking? And I don't work on secret experiments that the Allfather might not be so pleased with."

His mouth curled into a wide, evil grin.

"That's a shame. Such an act would be wonderfully chaotic."

"Quite so, and I know how much you hate chaos." She laughed, beginning to shiver as the chill of the water that soaked her dress seeped into her bones.

He noticed her plight and sat up, pulling her with him.

"Come on, let's get you home."

They stood, and Inkeri wrapped her arm around his waist. He held her close, as if to transport them home, but a gentle touch to his arm stopped him.

"Don't teleport us, please. I'd rather enjoy the walk back with you."

He nodded, moving his arm to encompass her shoulder as they began to squelch and slosh loudly back to the city.

"Thank-you, Loki, for today. I couldn't have figured out how to do it without you, you know."

He pulled her closer and smiled, kissing the top of her forehead. She had a knack for making him feel like he could do anything. In his mind, he didn't deserve her, but being with her made him forget, even for a short time, all of his future woes. He only hoped that she would be open enough to understand what he was about to do, and forgive him for it.

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	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Coronation Day

0600 hours

"Mother, is this too much?" Inkeri strode into the sitting room.

Asta looked up and took in the sight of her daughter.

"My darling, I'm sure he will love it." Asta responded.

"Who will love it?" Geir entered the room, already wearing his formal attire. The Allfather had chosen him to stand as official royal witness to the upcoming events of the day.

Inkeri blushed slightly, and Geir noticed.

"What is this?" He chuckled, "My daughter, the professional scientist, getting giddy over a man? I thought I'd never see the day." He circled her, looking at her carefully and a light went on in his eyes. "Hmm, not many of the young men around here have chosen green and gold as their house colors. Actually, there is really only one I can think of that has."

Inkeri laughed. "Father, you should have been an investigator."

Geir stood there, thoughtful, for a moment longer.

"Father, what is it?" Inkeri wondered curiously.

Geir smiled and shook his head. "I'm happy for you, my love. Just promise me that if you ever need to, you'll give him hell."

Inkeri snickered at that. "Don't worry father. I will."

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0600 Hours

Odin stood silently on his balcony, watching as his ravens took to the sky, swerving excitedly to and fro through the early morning mist.

"Even the birds seem to know what a grand day we are about to embark upon." A soft voice spoke from behind him.

Odin turned for a moment to see his wife as she quietly glided up next to him. He nodded to her.

"Do you think him ready?" He asked her as he reached out to let one of the birds land on his gloved hand.

Frigga smiled. "He will be a good king, and someday, Allfather of the Realm Eternal. I have no doubt that he will do everything he can to protect the nine realms."

Odin sighed as he pushed the raven back out into the air and turned with his hands clasped behind his back. "He is still very much a boy."

"He is," Frigga agreed, "But the people love him so." She took his arm gently. "I seem to remember a young king, newly crowned and brash as ever, who also won over the hearts of the people."

Odin smiled softly. "Aye, but that was a very long time ago."

"He will do alright, my love," Frigga admonished, "With you by his side to guide him, of course."

Odin patted his wife's hand, having been put somewhat more at ease by her words. She grew quiet and he looked at her curiously.

"Does something trouble my wife?" He pondered aloud.

She looked up at him nervously. "It is our other son. I have…seen…many different futures for him. I fear we have made a grave mistake in not telling him. The darkness inside of him has the potential to be great."

Odin contemplated her words. "It is too late now, to go back and change that past. He is our son, which is all that should matter."

"I agree, and this much I have told him, but he must hear these words come from you." Frigga countered stubbornly.

Odin shook his head. "No matter how many times I have tried to give him approval, or commendation, he never listens. Nothing is never good enough for him."

"Or," suggested Frigga, "Maybe it is just that you are expressing your love for him in a way in which you understand, but he doesn't."

Odin grunted. "Perhaps, although I cannot see how. He is so difficult for me to comprehend at times." Walking together back into his chambers, the Allfather turned to look down at his wife. "And what of the girl?"

Frigga smiled happily. "She is good for him. He loves her very much, although he does not realize it just yet."

Odin nodded, then stated bluntly, "She knows of his heritage."

Frigga's smile dropped. "Yes, she has known for quite some time, the secret plagues her day and night. She fears it will tear them apart, as do I."

"I could make her forget." Odin mused to himself.

Frigga broke her hold of his arm and moved to stand in front of him, her eyes glinting with anger. "Or, instead of continuing to hide the truth from those you love, you can begin to repair the damage before it is too late."

Odin looked at her thoughtfully. "You have seen something that will soon happen, haven't you?"

Frigga ignored his question and pressed him further. "Please, I beg of you, do not wait too long."

"I will consider it." He said finally, ending the conversation on the matter.

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0900 hours

Loki stood up from the bath, and wrapping a towel around his waist, he lazily made his way into his bed chambers. Stepping into his wardrobe room, he saw that his new helmet had finally been delivered. He picked it up, grinning, as he analyzed the beautiful golden sharp curving horns. Perfect for a God of Mischief, he thought. Of course, Thor had made fun of it, calling him a cow, but it was certainly better than the feathered chicken crown his brother loved so much. Loki laughed to himself, recalling the memory.

Suddenly, and quite seemingly out of nowhere, Loki heard a spark and pop of electricity, followed by a loud crashing and a groaning coming from outside. Setting the helmet down, he drew a dagger from the stand next to him, and cloaked himself in invisibility. Creeping into the main chamber, his eyebrows raised to see the sight in front of him. There on his floor, in the midst of a broken water pitcher, lay the most beautiful goddess he had ever seen. She looked up with a huff and swore to herself as she sat up, brushing bits of ceramic shards and water off of her dress.

He stayed invisible for a moment longer, drinking in her every feature. She was already dressed for the coronation, wearing a long black chiffon gown that touched the floor. The bodice of the gown itself was a black leather corset that was tied with gold laces in the back, and in the front, it had a halter of solid gold that ran around her throat like a necklace, taking the golden design all the way down to the middle of her chest. Around her bicep she wore a familiar serpent cuff with glowing eyes, and in her hair...

Oh gods her hair. Thought Loki, going weak in the knees.

She had changed the color, and forced it to grow long. It hung in soft, dark green curls that reached to the small of her back. Wrapped around the crown of her head was a simple braided band of gold, in the center of which, rested a beautiful serpent's head that matched the cuff on her arm. The snake sat perfectly on the front of her forehead in the parting of her hair.

Loki took in a shaky breath. She looked like a dark fairy.

Dropping his invisibility, he grinned devilishly. "Hello Inkeri."

Eyes widening, Inkeri gasped slightly and looked up at him, her eyes resting on his bare chest…then on his towel. He laughed and reached his hand out to help her off the floor, which she gladly took.

"I-I'm sorry," She stammered. "I didn't mean to teleport here, well, I don't think I meant to. It's been hard to control."

He nodded, not believing her for a second. "Of course, so you just happened to accidentally come here, looking like that, while I am here in my towel."

"Yes!" She exclaimed, unable to stifle her laughter. "And what do you mean, looking like that?" She suddenly looked self-consciously down at her dress.

His eyes lit up, and he grabbed her arm, forcefully pulling her into his chest. Leaning down to her ear, he whispered, "You really don't know how beautiful you are to me, do you?" He wound his fingers gently into her emerald hair. "Is this for me?"

Inkeri shivered and grabbed his face, leaning up to kiss him roughly. "I think I'm beginning to get the idea." She responded, "And, yes, it's for you."

Grinning wolfishly, he released her and made his way back to his wardrobe. "You may stay for a while, if you like, darling. At least let me put my clothes on first." He called out to her mockingly.

She rolled her eyes and sat down on his bed with a sigh. He came back out quite a while later, dressed in his finest. He wore his royal battle armor, with the four circular emblems of his rank and title as a royal prince of Asgard lining his upper torso. Behind him trailed a beautiful green cape, and on top of his head, he wore the special helmet.

"Well?" He grinned mischievously, spinning for her.

She giggled. "That helmet looks heavy, but it is so incredibly you. I like it."

Satisfied with her answer, Loki took his headgear off and set it on the table next to him. Inkeri rose and picked it up, trying it on without bothering to ask him if she could.

"Oh my!" She exclaimed, nearly stumbling backwards at the sheer weight of it, "How do you manage it?"

He watched her quietly, amused. Seeing her stand there in that dress, with his helmet on, he allowed himself to briefly wonder if that's what she would look like as his queen. To him, it was a glorious thought. Snapping out of his reverie, he realized she had long since taken the helmet off and had been watching him with a strange smile on her face.

"Reading my thoughts again?" He mused.

Inkeri shrugged. "Who, me? Never. Although your thoughts generally are quite interesting."

"As are yours, my lady. Especially the ones you had earlier while I was getting dressed." He quipped back.

Inkeri blushed and quickly changed the subject. "So tell me you have a prank planned for Thor after the ceremony. You have to."

Loki smiled sweetly, ever the perfect liar. "I have been looking forward to this day for a long time. I would not ruin it for my brother."

Inkeri cocked her head smiled at him. "You know, I swear I'm the only one that notices, but when you lie, you have a tell."

Loki scoffed at that. "Oh do tell, what is it that you think you see?"

Inkeri shook her head, smiling. She walked towards him and grabbed his hand, intertwining her fingers with his. "I will not." She responded, "Then you'd stop doing it."

He reached out and grabbed her other hand, pulling her closer. "I still don't believe you."

"Fine," She laughed, suddenly having an idea. "Tell me a truth and a lie and I'll tell you which is which."

Loki rolled his eyes. Nearly everyone had tried this with him, and all had failed.

"Alright," he responded, "But only for you. Let me think." He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them slowly. "Ready?"

She nodded, watching him attentively.

"Here are the two things," he began, "Number one-as a child I had a pet wolf who I tamed from a pup. He grew into a frighteningly large creature with fangs as big as my head, but never once did he harm me. No one ever knew about him but me, as I kept him in the woods. Number two- once as a teenager, in an effort to embarrass my brother, I briefly turned him into a woman in front of Sif."

Inkeri grinned. His execution of both statements was flawless, but she saw exactly what she was looking for. His right eyebrow raised ever so slightly, and, barely even enough to register, the corners of his lips twitched up even though his eyes managed to stay serious. To her, he always looked like he was on the verge of laughing when he told a half truth.

"Both lies!" She responded triumphantly, "A noble effort, however. Was it your goal to have me guess the lie first, so that I would think I was right?"

Loki's face fell. No one had ever bested him before at his craft.

"It was a lucky guess." He concluded.

Inkeri winked at him. "It's alright sweetie. Your secret's safe with me."

He raised a brow at her, but kept silent.

She let go of his hands and reached out, running her fingers through his hair softly. "Tell me, really, how are you feeling about this day?" She knew full well how his feelings ran toward his brother at times. She had felt it through him herself.

He closed his eyes, wanting to pull away, but unable to. "I told you. I have looked forward to it for a long time."

It was the truth, Inkeri noted, but all great lies had just the right amount of truth to them. She wondered what he was really up to.

"I am always here for you, you know." She whispered, leaving it at that. Even though he had never admitted it to her, Inkeri knew that the worst thing she could do for his self esteem would be to make him appear weak in front of her.

He leaned down and kissed her then, winding his hands up in her long, green hair one last time. He then pulled back and looked at her. "And I am afraid I must go. I have my brother to attend to."

Inkeri nodded and stepped back from him, closing her eyes.

He smiled at her. "Try not to pop into any other strange men's rooms will you, darling?"

Her laugh seemed to echo and bounce off the walls as she disappeared with a bright yellow spark.

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0900 hours

Kaapo looked in the mirror for the millionth time as he straightened and polished the special emblems on his armor. He had just been promoted to commander of the third division only a week ago, and he felt such a sense of great pride and accomplishment. As a lad, for a time, he had been so unsure of himself. What would he do with his life, where would he go? Even though the king and queen had been so kind to him, he had always felt like such a burden. Now though, this was something that he had earned, something he knew that no one had handed to him out of pity or some sense of duty to his dead parents.

It had been so hard for him at first, beginning his training as a warrior at thirteen. He had not been a natural fighter. He laughed to himself as he remembered his teacher constantly scolding him for his loud talking during class and his tendency to argue whatever methods that were being taught. Little by little, though, he had learned, and come to enjoy his work.

Hearing a knock at the door, Kaapo turned from the mirror and strode over, opening it. His eyes widened at the sight of his visitor. Standing at attention, he waited to be spoken to. The visitor did not stay long, and left him with only a short command.

"Commander, I have a very special job for you. During the coronation, you will have the utmost privilege of guarding the most sacred treasures in all of Asgard. Today, you will be assigned to watch over…the vault."

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*dun dun dun! By the way, I'd like to thank my husband immensely for helping me with this chapter for his work that I will entitle "Watching Thor over and over again to see if Loki has a tell." hehee. Which by the way, he actually does...in most of the scenes where he is lying, his micro expressions really do give him away. However, as he becomes more and more corrupted, he gets better at playing a straight face. Which, in my mind, really solidifies Hiddleston as an excellent actor.

Hope you all like this chapter! Thanks for all the great feedback.*


	10. Chapter 10

*disclaimer- to all of the copyright people who are soo obviously reading this story all of the time(day and night), I don't own the lines that I borrowed from this movie...the other guys do. If I could remember the production company, I'd say it. Buuut I don't. Is that good enough? Ok, back to the story...*

Chapter 10

Coronation Day

1100 hours

The immense crowd that had gathered in the grand hall buzzed with anticipation. Thor, the honored favorite, entered with his hammer Mjolnir raised high in the air. Loud cries rang through the air as millions of people shouted his name. Thor strode confidently through the middle of the crowd, to the base of his father's throne. Frigga watched her oldest son with a small smirk as he turned to face the crowd, yelling a warrior's cry. Odin sat stoically as ever, holding Gungnir, his face unreadable.

Inkeri watched from the crowd as Thor approached the throne, kneeling before his father, setting his hammer and his winged helmet gently on the floor. At that, Odin rose, gently tapping Gungnir on the marble floor. All were silent. From her vantage point in the crowd, Inkeri could see Loki, his lips stretched into a thin line. Something about him was different, he was cold. Inkeri realized with great surprise that she could sense no emotions emanating from him.

Odin began to speak.

"Thor Odinson. My heir, my firstborn."

Inkeri, her vision still fixated on Loki, watched as he swallowed hard and closed his eyes. She felt a sudden sharp burst of jealousy mixed with sadness come from him at that, and then nothing. A blank slate. Her brow furrowed.

Odin continued.

"So long entrusted with the mighty hammer Mjolnir, forged in the heart of a dying star. Its power has no equal, as a weapon to destroy, or as a tool to build. 'Tis a fit companion for a king."

Inkeri drowned out the sound of Odin's speech and focused all of her mind on Loki's.

 _Loki, what are you doing?_

His eyes sharply met hers in the crowd, but he said nothing, and she felt nothing. The expression on his face placid. Although she knew not why, Inkeri felt an acute pulse of panic rise from the bottom of her gut all the way into her throat. Something was terribly wrong. Inkeri searched through the huge array of people frantically, but could see none who felt as she did. Her eyes then darted to Frigga's, and their gazes locked for the briefest of moments before she turned back to look at her son.

Odin began his recitation of the vows. "Do you swear to guard the nine realms?"

"I swear." Thor responded.

"Do you swear to preserve the peace?"

Again, Thor confirmed confidently, "I swear."

"Do you swear to cast aside all selfish ambitions and to pledge yourself only to the good of the realm?"

At that, Thor raised his hammer high, triumphantly yelling out a final, "I swear!"

The panic Inkeri had first felt became worse. She felt dizzy, and…cold? Her eyes snapped back to Loki, and she realized he was staring at her intently with the faintest of smirks pulling at the corner of his lips.

 _You chose to do something right now?!_ She called out to him.

Whatever he had done, no one else had seemed to realize yet.

"Then I, Odin Allfather, pronounce you…"

Oh no, no it can't be, Inkeri thought with dread, her mind producing the words at the same time as the Allfather said them.

"Frost Giants."

The crowd began to murmur nervously, looking around for answers. The warrior guards that were in attendance put their hands to the hilts of their swords, already in full on defense mode.

Odin tapped his staff to the ground once and turned, stepping down from the throne, motioning for his sons to follow. Before they disappeared, he whispered something to the supreme commander of the guardsman, who then stood to address the crowd.

"People of Asgard. The Allfather regrets to inform you that due to a minor breach in security, the coronation of his son will have to resume tomorrow. Asgard is safe for the moment, and our king wishes you to celebrate and feast tonight, in honor of Prince Thor."

The answer seemed to suffice the people, and they all began to file out of the great hall. Inkeri backed out slowly, seeing her mother and father exit through one of the many great doors. Leaving through the closest door to her, Inkeri stood close to the wall as hundreds of people were calmly led out into the great feasting room. She gasped to feel a hand gently wrap around her arm, and she looked up to see the queen herself, pulling her down one of the great hallways of the palace. They walked in silence until they had come so far that there were no more people. Frigga looked around carefully before entering a small sitting room, pulling Inkeri softly by the hand after her.

"We haven't much time to speak. The Allfather will be wondering where I am." Frigga began breathlessly. "I want you to know that I have seen this path, but from here, it breaks off into many different conclusions." She stopped there, unsure if she should share more. She was wise to rarely divulge the visions she received from her power of foresight, as the future was easily changed and manipulated.

Inkeri read her face well. "And most of those conclusions frighten you?"

Frigga nodded. "Some, but I promise, not all. I have seen in my visions, what just happened in the throne room, where Jotun soldiers have managed to figure out a way into our vaults by themselves. I have seen others…where they have had help."

Inkeri sighed. So the Frost Giants had infiltrated the vaults, and she knew that in this instance, they had assistance in gaining entrance to Asgard. Inkeri's mind kept playing back the look she had last seen on Loki's face. His slight smile, an air of smug satisfaction. Either he had done it, or he was extremely happy that it had happened. How could he do this? More importantly, if he had hid this from her, what else could he be hiding? She herself had hid knowledge from him all of these months about his genetics.

Inkeri wrung her hands together and looked down, turning from the queen.

"I have been such a fool." She whispered.

Frigga comfortingly reached out to touch her shoulder. "A fool? For loving my son, in spite of all you know about him?"

"That's just it," Inkeri replied, "How well do I really know him? What he's capable of?"

"He is capable of great things," Frigga urged, "but in order to choose the right path, he needs you now more than ever. My child, I would not expect you to stay with him if you are not comfortable doing so, but something tells me that your insatiable curiosity will want you to get to the bottom of this."

Inkeri turned back to face the queen and nodded. "I have not given up on him yet, my queen. I promised you once that I would keep an open mind, and be fair, and so I will." No matter how confused I am right now, Inkeri thought.

Frigga reached out and hugged her gently.

"I must go," She whispered, and left the room, leaving Inkeri alone, more perplexed about her feelings than ever.

Suddenly a frantic voice broke through her thoughts. Loki's voice.

 _Inkeri, come to the royal healing room, now!_

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1200 Hours

Inkeri ran through the halls of the great palace, heart racing in her chest, fearful of what she might find when she arrived. She had thought about teleporting there, but had decided against it, as her ability was too spotty at the moment to be able to trust.

Pushing open the doors to the great healing room, she was unprepared for the sight in front of her. Loki, Thor, and Odin himself stood next to one of the beds. Eir, the healer, was taking readings of the young man lying there, a soldier with blonde hair and blue eyes. His stomach had been pierced clean through with what looked like an ice wound. Inkeri's heart sank as she realized it was Kaapo.

Loki, realizing she was there, looked up at her, unshed tears in his eyes.

"Inkeri, can you help him?" His voice broke slightly and she could see he was on the verge of losing it.

Inkeri approached the table and looked to Eir for information.

"He has been pierced through by a Jotun ice blade, my lady. His vital signs are erratic. It seems there is little I can do for him at this point." Explained Eir.

Looking down at the young man, she saw that most of the life had been drained from his face. Inkeri had never seen it on Asgard, but from her time observing the hospitals on Midgard, she knew what someone close to death looked like.

"I will try to help him. Please, Allfather, my princes, step back and give me some room." She requested gently.

They did as they were told, and Inkeri went to work, putting her hands on the young man's wound and closing her eyes. As soon as she saw the severity of the wound, she realized that the situation was nearly hopeless. The blade had shot clean through his small intestine, obliterating one of his kidneys. The edges of the hole were burned, as if by frostbite, and unlike a normal frostbite, it seemed to be spreading quickly throughout his entire body like a poison. Inkeri imparted a small bit of her energy to him, and noticed that right away, his face seemed to brighten, and his breathing became less labored. For what felt like hours, she stood there, attempting to help the body grow and form new tissue. Every time she felt like she got somewhere, however, the poison of the frost injury spread a bit further. Little by little, she imparted small amounts of energy to him, hoping it would stave off death for just a little bit longer while she worked.

But in the end, it was not enough.

Beginning to grow weak, Inkeri's hands started to shake, and she began to accept what she should have to begin with. He was too far gone.

Inkeri shattered the silence with a small tired sob. "I c-can't. I can't give anymore or I feel I will kill myself in the process." She leaned her arms on the table, with her hand on Kaapo's heart.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered to him, and began to teeter backwards, feeling as if she would pass out.

Loki, understanding what she meant, reached out and grabbed her, catching her before she fell. He picked her up and held her in his arms like a child.

Thor and Odin approached the table again, and Odin put his hand on the young man's forehead.

Through blurred vision, Inkeri saw him lean down and whisper something, then take Kaapo's hand. Thor placed his hand on Kaapo's shoulder. Her last coherent sight before losing consciousness was looking up to see Loki, tears steaming silently down his cheeks, his face full of regret.

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1500 hours

Inkeri awoke, still in the royal healing chambers, and looked around groggily. She was in a bed, and Eir was nowhere to be seen. To her left, Loki sat in a chair that had appeared to have been brought in for him, his head in his hands. Odin and Thor were gone. Her memories of the past few hours came rushing back, and her eyes shot to the table that had once held Kaapo, now empty. She closed her eyes again for a moment and sighed.

"Darling are you awake?"

Inkeri looked over at Loki. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were red.

"Yes, how long was I out?" She questioned.

He stood up and held her hand. "Not long, only about half an hour. You scared me a little."

"I am fine." She responded gently, her eyes drifting back over to the empty table. "I'm sorry." Tears began to burst forth from her eyes, whether she wanted them to or not, as she realized the implications of what had just happened.

Loki sat down on the bed, pulling her into his chest, and she let go then, heart wrenching sobs escaping from her mouth.

"Shh, it's alright." He soothed her as he held her head.

"I tried, I tried so hard and I failed." Was all she could manage to say through heaving breaths.

"I know, it's alright." He whispered numbly.

Inkeri held to him tightly for a long while, forcing herself to calm down little by little.

Loki spoke again, startling her with his words.

"I didn't know he would be down there. I didn't know anyone would be down there." he whispered.

Inkeri caught the raw edge of emotion in his words. It was guilt. She sat up a little, looking him straight in the eyes. He was at least telling the truth about that. He looked down at her, his eyes full of conflict.

Realizing what he had just said, he quickly changed the subject. "I know I asked to you to come here today, but promise me you'll never do that again, Inkeri, please." He pleaded with her. "If you ever went too far…" His voice trailed off.

She closed her eyes, pursing her lips, pondering the implications of his request. What if her mother or her father were ever gravely injured? It was not a fair thing to ask of her. "I can't promise I'll never give my whole life for someone I love, Loki. But I can promise that if I ever have to transfer my energy again, I'll be more careful next time."

He was silent at her answer. She pulled away from him gently and sat up on her own, crossing her legs.

"Loki, there are some things we need to talk about."

When his eyes met hers, they were hard.

"I know." Was all he said, as if he had already anticipated her questions, "But not now. Whatever I am feeling right now on the inside, I assure you, my brother is demonstrating on the outside. I must go to him, so we can sort out this mess with the Jotnar. I fear he will try to do something stupid in retaliation. Will you be alright?"

Inkeri nodded. "I understand, but know that I will seek you out later."

Loki stood up off the bed and leaned down to kiss her gently, then he turned and began to walk out, before stopping slowly. His back still turned to her, she heard him speak into her mind.

 _Inkeri, I can trust you, can I not?_

Inkeri swallowed hard, suppressing a shiver, and tried not to let him feel all of the dissonant emotions clashing around in her head.

 _Yes, you can trust me._

Seemingly satisfied with her answer, he exited the room.

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	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Coronation Day

1600 hours

Inkeri awoke again in the healers, forgetting for the second time that day where she was. Her father and mother stood nervously next to her bedside.

"Geir!" Asta exclaimed, "She's awake."

Inkeri felt a dull ache beginning to form in the middle of her forehead as she looked up at her parents. Geir took his only daughter's hand in his.

"Darling, the prince's servant came to us briefly and told us you were here. Are you alright?" Her father pressed worriedly.

Inkeri nodded. "I'm a little worse for wear, but I'll be fine. I'm slowly gaining strength."

"What happened exactly?" Asta questioned her.

"I," Inkeri closed her eyes, the bloody scene playing over and over again in her mind. "I tried to heal one of the soldiers that was brutally attacked in the vault during the ceremony today. I gave him too much of my strength and it weakened me."

Geir was about to ask if the man had survived, but something about the look on his daughter's face told him that he shouldn't.

Suddenly, from the window, Inkeri saw the Bifrost flash briefly, then nothing. She furrowed her brow. Something was happening out there.

"What of the Jotnar?" She questioned her father, who had moved from her bedside and was also looking to the window, confused.

"I know not. Odin has suspended Bifrost travel for the time being, until the issue has been sorted out. It is strange that it was just activated. Perhaps the Allfather himself has gone to deal with them." He looked back to Inkeri. "Eir has informed your mother and me that you are fine, but you will stay here overnight, so she can observe you."

Inkeri smiled weakly and nodded again to her parents. "I promise, I'll be fine, I just need to sleep."

Asta leaned down and kissed her forehead. "We will leave you to get some rest then, but don't hesitate to send for us if you need to."

"I will mother, thank-you." She responded.

Inkeri's parents turned to go, beginning to walk out of the room.

"Mother, father, was it, was it right? What I did? Even though I could have died?" She asked abruptly.

Geir turned to face his daughter, with nothing but pride and admiration in his eyes.

"There is nothing more noble and selfless, daughter, than to give your life for another. It is the Asgardian way after all." He replied, then thought for a moment. "Just don't try it again." He finished jokingly.

Inkeri laughed, then groaned, holding her aching head, immediately regretting the action.

"Goodnight father, mother." She called out to them.

As soon as they had left, Inkeri looked around the healing chambers. At the moment, she could not see Eir or any of the other healers. Standing up from the bed with shaking legs, she closed her eyes, disappearing with a crackle from the room.

Coalescing a millisecond later, Inkeri realized what a grand mistake it was to have teleported, as her head throbbed with pain. Looking at her surroundings, though, she was pleased to have actually made it to her intended location this time.

"Loki?" She whispered feebly. Chills and fever were beginning to overtake her body. No one answered. Fighting a wave of nausea, Inkeri dizzily stumbled to his bed, just making it there before passing out on his pillow.

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Coronation Day

1800 hours

Jotunheim

Loki gaped down at his arm where the Frost Giant still held it, the skin blue, dark lines winding their way from his elbow to his hand. He looked up at his enemy, an icy fear gripping at his throat, threatening to emerge from his mouth as a blood curdling scream. The monster in front of him addressed him with a look of odd curiosity, and then, recognition? None of it mattered however, as Loki wrenched his arm from the Jotun's grip and ended the encounter, stabbing him through his cold heart.

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Coronation Day

2100 hours

Inkeri awoke with a start to the sound of something crashing against the wall next to her. She looked up and saw remnants of a mug scattered on the floor, red wine streaking down the wall in its wake. Peering up at the thrower of the object, she saw Loki, his back to her, fists clenched at his sides. She noted curiously that one of the sleeves of his armor looked like it had been torn clean off. She also realized that the room was so dark, that he must not have seen her in amongst all of his pillows.

Slowly rising off of the bed, she padded quietly over to him. He flinched, his demeanor changing ever so slightly as he sensed her approach, but he said nothing. She stood directly behind him, and began to stroke the middle of his back gently. Stealing a glance at his face, she saw his lips were thin and drawn into a fine line, his eyes stony. He wouldn't look at her. She looked down to his bare arm and let her hand fall from his back to it, grazing him there ever so gently.

The look in his eyes changed from anger to wild fear as he finally looked down at her, stumbling back and wrenching his arm from her touch, holding it against his body like some diseased appendage.

"Inkeri." He whispered, as if he was suddenly registering her presence there.

"What's happened? Were you hurt?" She approached him again, but he stepped back from her, his breathing quickening to a panicked rate. He looked like an animal cornered in a cage.

She tried again, this time with her mind to reach him.

 _Show me what happened, darling._ Her voice echoed gently in his head.

She caught quick flashes of ice and snow, and a hand on blue skin before he shut her out.

Inkeri felt bile rise to her throat, burning as she forced it back down. In that moment, she knew that he had discovered his true heritage.

"We went to Jotunheim. Thor wanted revenge. Father found out, and Thor was punished, banished to Midgard for his disobedience. Volstagg and Fandral were injured, but not seriously. The rest of us are fine." Loki finally answered her numbly.

"Thor is gone?" She repeated. "Forever?"

He shook his head. "I do not know what my father has planned for him, nor do I care."

He then turned from her and stumbled quietly out to his balcony, sliding down slowly to the ground. Wrapping his arms around his knees, he stared out forlornly into the darkness of the night. Inkeri watched him as he went. In that instant, he reminded her so much of the innocent little boy that he used to be.

She followed him after a little bit, sinking down next to him and taking great care not to touch his offending arm this time. Gently, she leaned her head against his, staying silent. He leaned back against her, and to her surprise, took her hand in his. They sat together like that in silence for hours, watching the moons as they traveled through the night sky.

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*kind of a shorter chapter than I usually do, but that's just how it worked out this time. I was wondering if I should try to make it longer, but then I realized that would be forcing it, and I want it to come out smoothly and organically. I also realized something interesting, that as an extrovert, I tend to use a whole lot of dialogue in my writing, but when I read the works of people who I assume are introverts, as most writers usually are, I see so much rich detail and amazing word pictures of the environment/setting and the characters' feelings. It's definitely something for me to aspire to. Anyway, next chapter up shortly. ;-)*


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Inkeri awoke back in Loki's bed the next morning, realizing that she must have dozed off again at some point that night. She looked down to see him seated at the edge, by her feet, staring off into the distance. His mind was frenzied and active, his mental state was still apparent to her as the same confusion and shock that he had experienced from the night before. She knew without even having to search his mind that he was replaying the scene she saw from the night before over and over in his mind, his arm blue, and the cold Jotun hand squeezing it. Inkeri also noticed that he had changed from his armor into a more usual green tunic with black pants. The armor itself was nowhere to be seen. Loki sighed, leaning over and resting his elbows on his knees with his face in his hands.

"Good morning," She whispered to him.

He jumped slightly. Turning to look at her, he smiled sweetly, the usual façade fully back in place.

"Good morning, my darling. How are you feeling today?" He reached out and gently touched her face.

She sat up and crawled over to him, wrapping her arms around his long waist. Looking down, she realized she was no longer in her dress from the day before, but a long, green night gown.

"It is odd, I feel completely restored, as if it never happened. Did you perform any healing on me further last night? Also, did you undress me in the night, you sly fox?" She looked at him quizzically, a hint of a smile on her lips.

He laughed and pulled her into his lap, gazing back at her with faux innocence. "I was a perfect gentleman, as always. I merely transformed your party dress into a different one. To answer your first question though, no, I performed no healing upon you as there was nothing to heal really. You slept soundly all through the night, as if you were dead. In fact, you were sleeping so deeply that I'll admit, I checked your breathing a few times, just to make sure you were alright."

She snickered and nuzzled her head into his chest. "Well that's a side to you I haven't seen before. Loki the great Sorcerer Prince of Asgard, God of Lies and Mischief, the Grand Worry Wart. We shall add it to your title."

He rolled his eyes, grabbing a handful of her hair and tugging gently.

"You have yet to see how mischievous I can really be." He warned.

Giggling, she grabbed at his belly, which was his weak spot, and began tickling him mercilessly.

He began to writhe away from her, letting go of her hair immediately. "Ah! Alright, alright, truce! For now, anyway."

Still laughing, Inkeri leaned up and kissed his nose.

"That's better, you bad boy. Still, it is curious. I have never tried to heal someone that far gone before. I really had no idea of the implications. It is something I will have to research further." She mused.

He smiled at her. "Typical scientist. Promise me no more experimentation, though."

"It is not something I truly wish to experience again," She admitted. "Do you know…do you know when the funeral will be?"

He grimaced. "Probably at week's end. I'm sure the kingdom will also wish to morn for their loss of Thor. If my father allows it, that is." His nose wrinkled at the mention of his brother.

Sighing, Inkeri was reminded of the reason she had come to his room for the night before.

"Are you thinking about what happened with Thor? Are you worried for him?" Inkeri asked, even though she knew the true answer already.

He frowned. "Must we speak of it? Of course I am worried for him, however, I have no say in what Odin does. If my father believes this is the best course of action for Thor, then who am I to question it?"

Lie. She thought.

"It is so unfortunate that all of this had to happen exactly yesterday. He was so close to becoming king." She tested him carefully again, trying to draw him out more this time.

"Quite so," he answered smoothly, putting on a perfectly sad face. "It is indeed a shame that the coronation could not be carried out."

Another lie.

"Well, perhaps this experience will teach him to grow, make him a better king." She was almost enjoying watching him work before her. He really was a master of deception.

"Perhaps, if he doesn't get himself killed in the process. Father stripped him of all of his powers, making him essentially mortal." He nearly smiled at that. Underneath, she could tell he was as giddy as a child, knowing the predicament his brother was in.

Inkeri began to grow weary of their little game.

"Loki," She said abruptly, her irritation with him growing. "I am not a fool. I know what happened yesterday."

He stiffened.

She continued. "I know bringing the Frost Giants in here was your reckless prank, and something tells me that the trip to Jotunheim yesterday was no accident either. I can sense your happiness of Thor's departure just as I can sense your guilt about Kaapo's death."

Loki pushed her off of him gently and stood up, turning to face her, his jaw clenched. His earlier cheerful exterior had crumbled away to reveal his true feelings. "So, what would you have me say? That I planned my dear brother's downfall? Or, perhaps I will say that I am happy that he is finally gone? Maybe I am sick of having to live in his shadow for all of these years."

"Well, at least you'd finally be admitting the truth!" She exclaimed.

He scoffed and turned from her. "You want to know the truth? Of course I did it, right under all of their noses. I could never have had that stupid oaf sitting on the throne. The fact that he nearly brought us to war with Jotunheim is proof enough that he could never rule. So, yes, it was me." He turned back to face her, his voice lowering to a growl. "It was me who got Thor banished, and it is me who is ultimately at fault for Kaapo's death! Tell me, does my confession please you?"

Her eyes narrowed. If he was trying to incite her to anger, it was working.

He began to speak to her as if she were a child, his tone growing more menacing by the second. "What's wrong dear? What will you do now, sweet little Inkeri? Will you run from me just like all the others, because I frighten you? I wonder, how must it feel to be with such a bad man? Does it make you shudder to think how my hands have been upon you, and my lips on yours? Does it embarrass you to know that your innocent murmurings of passion have fallen upon the ears of a villain? What a foolish little girl you have been this whole time!"

Inkeri stood from the bed, shaking with rage. Raw power pooling into her hand, she reached back and flung it at him. It hit him dead in the chest like a ball of lightening, pushing him hard into the wall, immobilizing him there. The shock at her actions was apparent on his face as she approached him slowly, her hand still outstretched.

"Don't ever talk to me like that again, you insolent bastard." She growled, shoving him with her energy into the wall so hard that it began to crack.

Struggling to breathe, he slowly began to grin at her like a maniac, impressed by her display. "Well, well. Your powers are a lot stronger than I had originally thought. I never knew you could do that."

Inkeri let him go, and he slid down the wall, coughing and gasping for air. She towered above him, her fists clenched. "There are many things that I can do that you don't know about." She replied coolly. "And as for what you said earlier, I disagree. You're not a villain, or a bad man, you're just an imbecile sometimes! I assure you though, my dear, that I am no defenseless, naive girl."

He stood up, attempting to pull her to him telekinetically. Her eyelids lowered and a vase flew at him from across the room, hitting the wall centimeters from his skull and shattering into a million pieces.

Loki laughed darkly. "Oh my, you are fun when you're angry."

"You haven't even begun to see me angry." Inkeri hissed. She turned from him, looking across the room.

"I understand why you did it, you know." She spoke just a little softer. "It was idiotic, but I understand. And I agree with you, Thor would've brought the realms into chaos. He's young, and foolhardy, and would have never listened to your father on how to manage a kingdom." Inkeri felt Loki approach her from behind, and rest his hands uncertainly upon her shoulders. She turned and looked up at him with glistening eyes.

"But you," She continued her tirade on him, her words striking him like arrows to the heart, "You could barely run the kingdom any better. You love no one but yourself. Because of you, people you care about have died! I nearly died!"

His grip on her tightened and his gaze drifted away, as if he was afraid to look her in the eyes anymore. "You nearly died of your own doing." He spat out.

Inkeri pushed his hands off of her. He barely had time to register what was happening before he heard a _crack_ as she swung at him, her fist colliding with his face. He stumbled back and to the side, as he lost his balance, grabbing his throbbing left cheek and glaring at her. Loki had to admit, she was beautiful, standing there seething like that, her fists balled up with rage at her sides, ready to punch him again if need be.

"How dare you belittle what I tried to do? For you and for Kaapo?" Inkeri snarled. "He loved you like his own brother, I saw it in his eyes."

Fuming, he strode over to her, picking the little scientist gently up off the floor by the front of her gown, bringing him to his eye level. "I could have you executed for touching me like that."

Inkeri's eyes grew dark. She was clearly unafraid of him. "Not if I killed you first."

"That's enough!" He roared.

At that, Loki dropped her and pulled her into him. With an angry growl, his lips found hers, devouring them greedily. To his delight, she responded by running her hands through his hair and pulling him closer, biting at his lower lip none too gently.

In an attempt to regain control from his distraction, Inkeri ripped herself back from his face and tried to calm her breathing. Her hands still in his hair, she pulled his forehead down to hers and closed her eyes, sighing with frustration.

"Loki, this isn't helping. I want to hate you right now, but I cannot!"

"And why is that?" He whispered arrogantly. From his manner of speaking, she could tell he was grinning.

Ignoring his question, she let go of him, pushing him back and looking up at him.

"Enough of this petty bickering, it is getting us nowhere."

He rubbed his sore jaw. "If that was bickering, I'd hate to see a real fight between us."

Inkeri laughed at that, and reached out to touch his face, healing it easily. "I'm a little sorry I hit you, and I hope it never happens, but if it did, I would clearly come out the victor."

"Just a little sorry? And only because I would let you win, my sweet, for I could never hurt you. Or have you actually forgotten what happened that day in the stables?" He questioned, reminding her of his demonstration of power.

Inkeri shuddered slightly, remembering the images of the great burning hole in the wall. A clear testament to his jealousy and anger towards his brother. She dropped the matter, bringing the conversation back to her intended purpose for having it in the first place.

"I would've helped you." She admitted gently. "I could've seen to it that nobody got hurt. Or maybe I could've helped you devise a better plan, with a little less danger involved. I'm full of marvelous ideas, you know. Perhaps if we stopped meeting in your bedroom so often, you could come by my office and see what some of them have brought forth to fruition." She winked, knowing by his raised eyebrows that she had caught him off guard by her statement.

Loki eyed her curiously. She would have helped him? His thoughts flashed back to Thor's words when he had first saw her again. "She is different." He had been right, she was truly different from all the rest. Day by day, he was seeing it, and this side to her, her darker side, he rather liked. Nodding, he pulled her gently into his arms.

"No more secrets then?" He whispered.

Inkeri swallowed hard. "No more secrets." She whispered back with firm resolve. This was it, it was now or never.

Pulling away from him somewhat, she took his left hand and began to roll up the sleeve of his long tunic. His eyes grew wide as she touched his arm softly.

"If," She stopped, her eyes searching his, trying to find the right words to say. "If we are to be honest with each other from now on, I must tell you then, that I have been keeping a secret from you as well."

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*(Giggles and runs off like a little gremlin.) You're all so welcome for that. Hope everyone is still enjoying it. Chapter 13 coming soon, it's written but it needs some fine tuning still. Thanks DQ! :-)*


	13. Chapter 13

*Disclaimer- more movie dialogue that I don't own, I just borrowed!*

Chapter 13

Loki watched Inkeri curiously as she stood before him, his tense hand in hers. It was taking every ounce of strength he could muster not to rip his arm from her grasp. Panic began to tug at his heart. Had she seen his memories?

"I have thought long and hard about how I could show you, but now I know that you've already seen it." Her voice shook.

He was confused.

Ghosting her fingertips over his arm, Inkeri closed her eyes and concentrated, a single tear rolling down her cheek. Loki looked down and saw what she was doing to him. The horror had returned, the damned blue skin crept up his arm, swallowing his pink Aesir flesh, consuming his sanity bit by bit.

Loki felt his stomach wrench, vomit threatening to lurch forth from his insides. He swallowed thickly. She knew. The way she spoke to him made it seem as if she had known for quite some time.

Wrenching his arm from her, he backed away slowly, shaking his head in disbelief.

Inkeri hung her head in shame, letting her long green hair fall in front of her face, her hands dangling limply at her sides. Falling to her knees, she opened her mind to him. He saw everything, their encounter in the garden, her research in the academy's science libraries, even her talks with his mother. Oh his mother. Needles stabbed at his heart at seeing her. He had hoped she was just as in the dark as he was.

"You betrayed me. You lecture me about secrets, and yet, _this_ is what you've been keeping from me? You are a little hypocrite aren't you?" He whispered furiously.

An ugly sob escaped from Inkeri's throat, and she covered her face in her hands, shaking her head.

"I would never betray you." She choked out. "It has killed me these past months, having to keep this from you, but how would I have told you? Tell me that."

He stood there, speechless.

"Please tell me how I could have told you." She begged.

He stared at her blankly as she knelt before him sobbing. She radiated such sadness and despair. He did not know what madness compelled him, but he could not bring himself to hate her for her deception. She was right, after all. How could she tell him that he could be an _ettin_ , a horrible, disgusting ice creature? How she had even managed to be with him these months, he did not know.

Loki began to feel like he was suffocating. The room seemed to spin and distort before his eyes. He needed to get out of there, needed to find answers. Storming out of the room, he left her there in a pile on his floor, without a backward glance.

Rounding a corner in the hallway, Loki began to make his way down a particular flight of stairs. He knew exactly where he was going. After some time he finally approached the vault, pushing past the guards and shutting the great doors behind him. His mind was ablaze. What had happened on Jotunheim, what Inkeri had seen in his DNA, it had to be some sort of trick. It could be a spell or a deception, cast upon him by one of his enemies. It made sense, as he surely had angered many in his lifetime. But for what purpose? And how would he not have known?

Dashing through the long corridors of the vault like a madman, Loki finally came to the room he needed. He entered, and descended the stairs. His breathing heavy, he strode slowly up to the object. It was a thing from that world, surely it could tell a native from a non-native? Shaking his head ever so slightly in denial, his hands came down upon it, lifting it gently from its place. Immediately as Loki touched the Casket of Ancient Winters, his body began to change color.

A voice bellowed out from behind him in the darkness. Odin's voice.

"Stop!"

Loki ignored him, clutching the Casket for dear life.

"Am I cursed?" He whispered.

"No." Odin answered reluctantly.

Loki slowly set the accursed item back down on the pedestal.

"What am I?"

"You're my son." The Allfather responded.

Loki turned to face Odin, his entire body having been changed to its original form.

"What more than that?" He murmered darkly and began to walk towards his father. "The Casket wasn't the only thing you took that day from Jotunheim was it?"

Odin watched his younger son approach him from his vantage point on the vault steps.

"No," He answered gently. "In the aftermath of the battle, I went into the temple, and I found a baby. Small, for a giant's offspring. Abandoned to suffering, left to die. Laufey's son."

Loki looked away from his father as the realization hit him. The recognition in the Frost Giant's face at seeing the deep house lines of his arm that denoted the Jotun class structure, right before he killed him. He was a prince of Jotunheim. He was an unwanted child.

"Laufey's son?" Loki repeated. Blinking, he looked back at Odin for confirmation.

"Yes."

Loki's breathing quickened, panic and anger beginning to take over his higher brain functions.

"Why? You were knee deep in Jotun blood. Why would you take me?"

"You were an innocent child." Odin responded calmly.

"No," Loki interrupted him, growing more panicked by the second. "You took me for a purpose. What was it?"

Odin hesitated for a brief moment.

"Tell me!" Loki's desperate voice echoed out into the cavernous room. Tears began to stream down his face.

Odin finally conceded. "I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day. Bring about an alliance, a permanent peace. Through you."

"W-what?" Loki stammered in disbelief.

"But those plans no longer matter." Odin continued.

Loki grew hysterical. "So I am no more than another stolen relic? Locked up, here, until you might have use of me?"

"Why do you twist my words?" Odin countered, becoming frustrated.

"You could've told me what I was from the beginning! Why didn't you?" Loki prodded him.

"You're my son." Odin answered with a maddening calmness. "I only wanted to protect you from the truth."

"Why, because I am the monster that parents tell their children about at night?"

Odin faltered on the stairs, this was not how he had wanted this conversation to happen. His heart was heavy. First Thor, and now this.

"You know it all makes sense now!" Loki snarled, "Why you favored Thor all these years, because no matter how much you claim to 'love' me, you couldn't have a Frost Giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!"

Through the fog of his anger, Loki noticed all too late the scene that had transpired in front of him. His father, crumpled and broken, lying upon the steps of the vault, reaching out for help. And then he was gone, his eyes closed. Loki knelt down next to him, feeling terror grip his throat. What had he done? Reaching out, he felt his father's chest. Relieved, he noted that the old man still breathed.

"Guards!" He yelled pathetically. "Guards please help!"

They rushed in, leaving him standing there like a helpless child.

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Inkeri sat quietly on a tall tree branch, observing the woods from the height she was at. It was amazing where she could go, now that she had the means to shift her body to whatever location she chose. Every time she teleported, it became easier and easier to do. Admittedly though, rising this high in the trees had been a huge risk for someone with her experience level.

Looking out across the forest, she noticed a deer and its young fawn, both nuzzling the grass with their velvet black noses. The wind picked up slightly, causing the branches and leaves to rustle beneath her. The sun was high overhead now. It must have been nearly noon. She gripped the trunk of the tree with one hand. Her parents must be worried about her, wondering where she was. Her mind drifted to Loki. It was all over now, surely. Not that she had expected it to go on after he found out. She cursed herself for living in such a dream. What did she really think would happen after all? That he would be just fine about it? She wondered morbidly if he would exile her, shutting her out from Asgard, her family, and her work. She was an idiot for having any hope. She really didn't blame him, either. She only hoped that he would be alright in the end.

Rising from her seated position, she transported carefully to the ground. As her vision came into focus, she gasped at the sight in front of her. There was her wolf, yet again, seated calmly on the ground.

"What are you?" Inkeri whispered.

The dire wolf cocked its head and panted. Eyeing her like a playful dog. It whined and approached her, butting its head up to her hand.

Amazed, she reached out to touch its great big head. As she did so, the animal began to shift before her eyes. Inkeri gasped and jumped back from it, watching as it morphed into a humanoid shape.

"I say, you have been hard to find, my dear." Frigga smiled gently, dusting off her dress, although there seemed to be no trace of dirt on it.

"Highness, it was you? All this time, I had wondered if it was Loki." Inkeri exclaimed.

"I had to check on you." The queen explained. "I know what happened between you and my son."

Inkeri's eyes grew larger as the queen's image distorted briefly. She was talking to a projection!

"Where are you? What's happening?" Inkeri asked desperately.

Frigga appeared to look down at something, then back up at Inkeri. "I am here, with my husband. He sleeps, now. I will not leave his side."

Inkeri nodded. So the king was in his Odinsleep. It was a thing very little of the common people knew about. As a scientist, however, Inkeri had learned all about the chamber that had been designed especially for Odin to be put into a sort of stasis, long enough to let them heal from whatever wound or injury he had suffered.

"Is the Allfather alright?" Inkeri questioned dubiously.

"I do not know," Frigga answered sadly. "His heart is heavy. He grieves for his two sons. I have not seen him like this in all of my days."

"And, what of Loki?" Inkeri's eyes welled up as she spoke his name. She looked away from Frigga, embarrassed by her obvious display of emotions.

The queen looked at her beseechingly. "Please, child. It is imperative that you go to him. I fear for his sanity. You are the only thing grounding him at the moment, and if he loses you, his mind will fall into chaos. I will also do my best to reason with him, but I'm afraid he will see us as only the enemy right now."

Irritated with herself for crying, Inkeri wiped her damp eyes harshly with the back of her hand.

"I do believe I am the last person he wishes to see at the moment, my queen."

Frigga shook her head. "He will listen to you still. You only must find a way to get through to him." She smiled reassuringly. "I have seen the two of you interact. I'm sure you will have no problem thinking of a way."

"Why?" Inkeri suddenly pondered. "Why do you have so much faith in me? Why did it have to be me at all, and not some other young maiden? I am merely a young woman who grew up with him, a childhood friend turned paramour to your son. I am nothing."

Frigga smiled at her strangely. Her next cryptic words made Inkeri's mouth turn dry.

"You are wrong about that, my dear, for within you lies the ability to either save us, or condemn us all."

Inkeri swallowed hard before she spoke. "Where is he now?"

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*wow, guys! I'm speechless! Thanks for all the follows and faves on that last chapter. You all rock! Khaoula845- I tip my proverbial hat to you, my friend. Thank you for that amazing comment, I am trying not to let it go to my head as we speak. ;-) Stay tuned, 14 coming soon.*


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Loki sat atop of one of the large rolling ladders that was situated against a bookshelf, deep in the palace library. He fingered idly through one of the books, not really reading, wishing he could disappear completely. Odin had been dragged off to the healers in front of him, and that was the last he knew of the matter. He wondered what his counterfeit parents would do with him, now that he knew. It was such an odd thing, to still feel like they were his flesh and blood, even though they weren't. Sadly, he also wondered randomly if Thor had also known of his parentage. Thor, his false brother. Oh how he hated him so much more now. He hated them all for this.

He shuddered. If anyone else found out about this, they would cast him out. They may even exile him back to the cold wastelands of Jotunheim. He would definitely not be accepted here on Asgard any longer, nor would he be accepted on his home world. Not that he would ever want to live in that savage place. How ironic, he lamented to himself, two sets of parents that never wanted him. Two different worlds he didn't belong in.

"That's not true, and you know it." Came a voice from below him. "And darling, do be careful, I'd hate for you to break your ankle again."

Loki respired and glared down at the floor. "I came here to be alone, woman. Not listen to you pass your typical self-righteous judgments."

Inkeri held her hands in the air as a gesture of peace. "Fair enough."

"How did you find me?" He made no effort to move down off of his perch, pleased with just watching her from afar.

"Your mother told me where you would be." She looked up at him sheepishly.

He pursed his lips, blocking her from view with his book, pretending to read it with great interest. She took his little act as a sign that he had not yet shut her out completely. He felt her begin to climb the ladder, and his breathing became shallow with vexation. Her hand reached out to grab his leg, and he yelled out, disappearing completely from the library.

Blinking, he looked around, having reappeared laying on his back in a patch of soft grass in part of the woods just outside of the city.

"Inkeri!" He nearly screamed.

He heard her giggle come from above him. Looking up, he saw she sat upon one of the lower branches of a tree in front of him. She hopped off and strode over to him confidently. Loki scowled at her. After all that had happened, she chose to disrespect him, even laugh at him? This woman must be mad. Either that, or maybe a bit too similar to him for his own good. He was the one who should be laughing at her, making her beg for mercy, for forgiveness. But he didn't, because right now, she was all he had.

"I used to play here as a child." She sat next to him, crossing her legs, looking up into the trees.

"Lately, I've come here a lot more, as I've had no one to talk with about my problems but myself." She looked at him impishly out of the corner of her eye. "We've had a lot of interesting conversations, myself and me."

Loki sat up on his elbows, looking up into the tops of the trees. He didn't want to admit it, but the green of the forest did have a calming effect on him.

"Loki, I know you're angry at me, and you may never forgive me, I understand that. But I still care for you deeply. If you wish us to speak no more after this, then I will comply. I'm sorry I had to keep things secret from you like that. I just wanted to bring you here and tell you that none of it matters to me." She spoke simply.

He looked at her sharply. "And by none of it, you mean, what? The fact that underneath this false Aesir skin, I am a savage beast, a wolf in sheep's clothing? I hardly think you understand the implications of what you are saying to me."

"I understand perfectly what I am saying, Loki, and you could have the genes of a gods damned tree frog for all I care. You are you." She hesitated a moment and reached out to touch his face. "You are…wonderful. You always have been. I just wish you could see it."

"And you are a fool for saying such things!" He exclaimed, jerking his head away from her.

"Maybe so," She acknowledged, "but I don't care. It is the truth. It is what I know. And I won't ever stop believing it."

At that, his cold exterior cracked ever so slightly, angry tears threatening to burst forth from his eyes. But no, he couldn't do this in front of her, he wouldn't. Heaving himself up off the ground, he yelled out with a rage that shook the treetops, frightening the birds from their nests. Fire sprang forth from his hands. It was hot, burning, and alive. Everything that he wasn't. Targeting the trees closest to him, he shot off his energy, watching them burn. He wanted to watch all of Asgard burn, even if it meant starting here.

"Loki!" He heard a cry cut through the fog of his anger. He didn't care. Pushing more fire out, he began to let it consume everything in the woods around him, the smoke rising up above him in an ugly black cloud. His breathing became ragged and his body ached, but he couldn't stop. It felt so good. Part of him wished the fire could overtake him, cleanse him of this body. It was all turning out to be like a horrible nightmare, one that he could never wake up from.

"Loki!" She cried again.

This time he felt her arms around him from behind, drawing him in, pulling him towards her. He tried to break free, make a feeble attempt to stop her, but he couldn't. He was growing weak, probably from the heat, he realized. He was disgusted with himself.

 _Stop now, please!_ He heard her voice cry from within his mind. She drew him closer, hanging on for dear life.

Her pleas fell upon deaf ears. He would continue. He would continue until there was nothing left of himself to give. They would fear him! Oh, yes, they would see how powerful he could truly be. They would all be sorry. Nothing mattered anymore. Nothing, he was nothing. He was-

He felt her hands slide up his chest, stopping just over his heart. _Please…my love._

He stopped.

Falling to his knees and bringing her with him, he took one final glance at the utter devastation swirling around him, and then, he let himself break.

Hot, bitter tears began to flood down his face. Through the cloud of his rage, he vaguely felt her come in front of him, cradling his head in her arms. He grabbed her by the shoulders, trying to push her away, but she held tight, whispering something in his ear. He gave in to her, going slack in her arms, grateful for the noise of the fire that was serving to drown out his sobs. For what felt like forever he sat there like that, consumed by his misery, letting loose nearly a millennium of inner turmoil.

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After a time, Loki slowly came back to his senses. He began to notice that the acrid smell of smoke no longer burned his nostrils, and also, the sounds of the fire were now completely nonexistent. A warm body still held him tight, caressing his head tenderly. He gradually released his death grip on her, drawing back from her slightly.

Gawking in amazement, he stared at the forest around him. It was once again lush and verdant, showing no sign of any previous destruction.

Loki studied the woman who still held him in her arms, her smiling green eyes looking back up at him.

"Plants have always been my specialty." She uttered in a hushed tone, stroking his hair softly away from his face.

He exhaled slowly. She was so beautiful. He didn't deserve her. He didn't deserve anything.

"What do I do?" He pleaded quietly.

She leaned forward and placed a loving kiss on his forehead.

"Well, as I see it, you have two choices. You can let this destroy you, or you can deal with the hand life has dealt you, and let it make you a better man."

"I am the son of a monster. Laufey's son." He said in a daze.

Inkeri was taken aback. "Laufey's son? You mean you were stolen from your parents?"

A cruel smile formed on his lips. "Not quite. You see, they didn't want me either. I was left out, orphaned. Some sort of sick sacrifice to their gods. Odin, the benevolent, merciful Allfather, he took pity on me. He rescued me and dressed me up as one of them." He looked at her sadly. "As one of you. To keep me for some twisted purpose. To unite the realms, to form a peace. A failed plan…that's all I am to him."

She took his hands in hers, winding their fingers together one by one. "Well, if he hadn't taken you, then you'd be dead, and that would have been a horrible shame."

Sneering at her words, he shrugged his shoulders. "Would it be? Really? I have no family. I have nothing."

"Yes, you do. As much as you believe they don't love you right now, I assure you they do. I feel it inside of them, even if you don't. And…I'm still here. I haven't left yet." She looked at him timidly.

"I know." He whispered. "You must be insane."

She grinned. "Maybe a little. But life is much more fun that way."

He actually looked slightly amused by that.

"Your mother told me that your father has fallen into Odinsleep. She worries for him. What happened between you two?"

Loki closed his eyes. "This is all my doing." He admitted. "After I left you, I went to the vault. I touched one of the old Jotun relics there-the Casket, and it…transformed me, for a moment. My fa-Odin, he found me. He told me everything. I spoke to him rather harshly and he collapsed. I did not mean for it to happen."

"Do you still love them, Loki? After all of this?" She inquired.

He seemed startled by her question, and sat there in silence for quite some time.

"Yes." It pained him to admit it, but it was the truth. Were it anyone else that asked him that, even Frigga herself, he would have lied and said no, that he hated them all. But Inkeri, for some reason unbeknownst to him, had a way of bringing out his vulnerable side. It was almost as if the longer they were together, the harder it was for him to lie to her.

"Then what will you do?" She asked.

He sighed. "I should go to my mother. I will fix this. I must do whatever it takes."

She nodded and they helped each other off of the grass. Loki pulled her to him suddenly, and kissed her deeply, pulling her as close to his body as was possible.

"Thank you, for listening. For not running away." His eyes searched hers, secretly afraid that she would show some sign of disgust with him. There was none.

She cupped his cheek in her hand. "I am here for you always, Loki. I promise you that."

He flashed her a wicked grin.

"Be my wife?" He proposed sarcastically, behaving as his old self again for a small moment.

She hit his arm playfully.

"Not in a million years…or at least a hundred years." She replied with a wink.

"It seems I have a chance with the lady, then?" He grinned.

Inkeri rolled her eyes. "Loki, your mother needs you. Go. You know where to find me, and I you."

He nodded and kissed her one last time, then vanished from sight.

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*Thank you thank you thank you for the reviews! (DQ ;-) ) and the Faves/Follows! Y'all are great! 15 and 16 up soon. I'm on my last week of vacation this upcoming week, so I want to try and write as much as I can until then!*


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"I asked him to be honest with you from the beginning. There should be no secrets in a family." Frigga inclined her head towards her son as she leaned over the bed where her husband lie sleeping.

"So why did he lie?" Loki questioned. His mouth was set in a hard line, but the angst in his eyes betrayed his true feelings.

"He kept the truth from you so that you would never feel different. You are our son Loki, and we your family. You must know that."

Loki's gaze drifted down to his father. He did know, deep down.

"You can speak to him." Frigga whispered from across the bed. "He can see and hear us even now."

Loki nodded. "How long will it last?"

"I don't know. This time it's different. We were unprepared." Frigga admitted.

"I'll never get used to seeing him like this. The most powerful being in the nine realms, lying helpless, until his body is restored." He said.

"You are a good son." She assured him. "We mustn't lose hope that your father will return to us, and your brother."

Loki's expression hardened. He wasn't sure if he was ready for that yet. "What hope is there for Thor?"

"There's always a purpose to everything your father does." Replied Frigga. "Thor may yet find a way home."

Bowing to his mother slightly, he rose and turned to leave. There were many things he had yet to think upon. As he crossed the room, however, the doors flew open, revealing a line of soldiers. They hailed and bowed…to him? He watched on with surprise and confusion as the high priest entered the room, Gungnir in hand. He took to his knees before him, offering the staff to Loki.

This couldn't be happening. He didn't deserve this, he never wanted this. Looking over to his mother for answers, she spoke firmly.

"Thor is banished. The line of succession falls to you. Until Odin awakens, Asgard is yours."

Loki drew a breath and turned back to the priest, still waiting for him with outstretched arms. Gingerly, he took hold of the staff, testing the weight of it in his hands.

Frigga smiled at her younger son with pure admiration. "Make your father proud, my king."

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Inkeri sat down in her office chair, flipping on the projection of her workplace computer. She had spent nearly half the afternoon apologizing to her parents for making them worry when she hadn't come home that morning. Her excuse to them was that she had to attend to an urgent matter from the queen, which wasn't really an untruth.

Flipping the projection around and enhancing the image, she pulled it towards her, enlarging it. As much as nature had always fascinated her, so had machines and technology. Even though her previous efforts of a personal teleportation device had not yet been fruitful, the idea itself had given birth to something far more interesting. She pulled a few circuits out of the holographic blueprint, replacing them with a more efficient pathway. It was nearly time to make a prototype. Wrapping the glowing image deftly into the palm of her hand, she picked it up, making her way down to the laboratories. Reinserting the blueprint into computer there, she went to work, testing the engine power over and over in the simulations chamber.

It was a success.

The computer flashed a request at her. 'Do you wish to create a model?'

"Lady Geirsdottir." Came a voice from behind her.

Inkeri nearly jumped out of her skin and turned, facing one of the palace servants. "Norns! Could you not have knocked, sir?"

The man grinned apologetically. "I am sorry, my lady. The king has requested audience with a scientist. Specifically with the Lady Geirsdottir. I have been sent to collect you."

Inkeri watched him speak, puzzled. The king had awoken? She turned and looked down at the computer screen, still blinking furiously at her. Pressing a button, she nodded her consent to the man, and began to follow him.

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The huge doors to the throne room creaked open, and Inkeri walked through timidly. Her mind raced with any and all of the things that Odin could want to speak with her about. Peering up at the dais, however, she saw not Odin situated on the throne, but Loki.

Approaching him carefully and with a curious glint in her eyes, she bowed on one knee, her right fist to her heart.

"My king." She said, looking up at him fearlessly.

He stood from the throne, his face betraying none of his thoughts in front of the guardsmen and some of the other council that were close by.

 _Well, well. This is an interesting turn of events. Congratulations, I think._

"Lady Geirsdottir." He responded, approaching her.

 _Very funny. This is not what I had in mind when I ruined the coronation._

"Oh sire, please call me Inkeri."

 _What do you really need me here for? Not that I don't mind just seeing you. Oh please tell me you plan to make good on your offer from earlier. Queen Inkeri. I like the sound of that._

"As you wish. I called you here, Inkeri, to speak with one of Asgard's finest engineers about upgrading the turret weapons, in case of any possible future threats to the security of the realm."

 _Don't tempt me, darling. I called you here because I seek your council._

Inkeri's face turned to that of shock. Anyone else watching would have thought she was fearful from some imagined attack on the city.

"Do you believe we are in any danger from the Jotnar?"

 _I am honored to help in any way I can. Perhaps we should retreat to somewhere more private? Or we could just stand here and look at each other in silence while everyone watches. That would be quite amusing._

He smiled at her reassuringly. "No, but I do believe it is wise to upgrade security, especially after an incident such as the one that happened during my brother's ceremony."

 _I am getting to that, my dear, but first you must tell me about the turrets._

"Of course! I do have some ideas for the turrets, if you would like to look over them."

Before he could answer, a group burst quickly into the room. Inkeri felt his temper flare. It was Sif and the Warriors Three.

"Allfather, we must speak with you urgently." Sif led the group in words and body, their heads all bowed with respect.

They all looked up at their new king, stopping short in shock.

"My friends." Loki said in a mocking tone.

Inkeri fought the struggle to roll her eyes in front of him.

 _Come now, Loki, do you have to be so cruel to them? You know what they are here for._

"Where's Odin?" Questioned Fandral as they all darted up to the throne.

 _Why should I be kind to them? They were never kind to me._

"Father has fallen into the Odinsleep. Mother fears that he may never awaken again." He answered them, rather smugly.

"We would speak with her." Sif commanded.

Inkeri sighed internally. _Bad move Sif._ Sif suddenly seemed to notice her presence in the throne room, looking over at her strangely, and Inkeri wondered for a brief moment if she had accidentally spoken into the lady warrior's head instead of Loki's.

"She refuses to leave my father's bedside." Loki was growing more irritated with them by the second. "You can bring your urgent matter to me. Your king."

The four stood taken aback for a brief moment, before kneeling in front of him.

"My king," Sif addressed him with obvious false respect. "We would ask that you end Thor's banishment."

He frowned.

 _They want nothing more than to use me to regain Thor! They will see to it that he is king instead of me. They do not trust me!_ He growled.

 _It doesn't matter if they don't trust you. Your mother and father obviously do, otherwise you would not be king. Your mother was well within her rights as Allmother to claim the throne in your place. And of course they wish to have him back, especially her. If I were the Lady Sif, and it were you in his position, I would try anything to see your safe return. She may deny how she feels about him, but it is obvious by her actions that those denials are untrue._ Her voice soothed him a fraction, and her logic made him silent.

The warriors gave sidelong glances at each other, perplexed by his silence. Inkeri stood respectfully in her place on the dais with her head down, as if she wasn't there at all.

 _I cannot just bring him back. It's not that simple. To be honest, I'm not sure I even want him back._ He finally responded.

 _I know. But please, you said you wished to seek my council, and now I am giving it. Do not alienate them. If on your side, they may prove to be valuable aids, but if you provoke them, they will rebel against you. They already have gone against Odin._

Loki hated to admit it, but he knew she was right. They would do anything for Thor, just as he would have at one time.

He took another glance at them, all knelt in front of him. It did not give him as much joy to see as he thought it would.

"Rise." He commanded finally with a heavy sigh.

They rose.

This time, Volstagg spoke. "Please, highness. May we bring him back?"

Loki looked to Inkeri, her eyes smiling at him, encouraging him silently to be a good man. He both hated and loved the power she held over him.

"I am not sure." He spoke the truth with them. "What my father did cannot be easily undone. He had a purpose for punishing Thor. That I do know."

"Hasn't the punishment gone on long enough?" Sif asked. Her obvious dislike of Loki was apparent.

"Again, Lady Sif," Loki gritted his teeth as he spoke her name. "I do not know. What do you suggest I do? My father has placed a condition on Mjolnir that he who holds the hammer must be worthy to do so. If Thor was indeed again worthy, would not the banishment be over? Even though my father wouldn't be able to act on it, Heimdallr would at least know, and be able to bring him back. Until this happens, I cannot go against my father's wishes. He does still live, after all."

Sif's eyes blazed angrily, but she said nothing. He did have a point.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Volstagg petitioned.

Loki was thoughtful, desperately wishing he could end the conversation abruptly and make them leave. He did not want to think about this right now. He wished Thor could be gone forever, but he knew deep down that this would not happen as log as Thor still lived.

"Let us reconvene in the morning. I will seek council on the matter with my mother tonight in private," Was all that he said.

Volstagg nodded. "A wise and most gracious thing to do, my king. We thank you."

Inkeri looked to Sif and saw with surprise that her face had softened slightly. They dipped their heads in respect and left the room.

 _Well done. That was very kingly of you._ She was sincere in her words. She had not expected him to concede to that point with them.

"Now, Lady Inkeri. Before we were so rudely interrupted, we were speaking of the turrets. Please, you will follow me to my private offices so that we may look over your plans."

 _What is it about the way you talk that makes everything sound so suggestive?_

"Yes, highness." She followed him out of the room, hearing his inner laugh trickle through to her head.

As soon as he closed the door and they were alone, he took off his heavy helmet and set it on the table before him. She stood patiently, waiting for him to speak what was on his mind.

"This is a most unexpected turn of events for me." He finally said, turning his staff slowly in his hands.

"I see that." She responded, still unsure of his motives. "Do you really mean to try and bring Thor back?"

He glared at her.

"I'm not sure."

Realization clicked in her mind. "Oh. I see what this is. You've had a little taste of power and now you're afraid he'll take it from you. Aren't you?"

"He deserves whatever punishment he was meted. He nearly brought us to war!" He answered.

"I know, but only because of your prodding." She crossed her arms defiantly.

"Do you take his side now?" His jealousy, ever present, began to flare once again.

"Of course not. You bid me come here for my counsel, so I'm just presenting the obvious facts." She answered him calmly.

He crossed his arms, face full of contempt.

"Why do you hate him so?" She asked him suddenly. "I know that Odin has always favored him, but why must you hate Thor for that? Why not just hate Odin? Thor may be obnoxious and loud, and he's certainly not as intelligent or cunning as you, but he loves you wholeheartedly. He is not a bad man. He would be truly happy to see you standing here as king today."

Loki gave her a black look.

"You speak above your position, Inkeri."

Her look became more determined. "I understand that, and believe me when I say that it's not the first time I have, nor will it be the last. I respect your authority, and I serve you as my king. But you will always be my friend first and foremost, and I will not cower from telling you things you may need to hear, no matter how hard they are to say. If I gave you any less, in my mind, it would be worse than a betrayal. We already know what happens when I keep things from you."

He softened a bit. Why did she always have to be so bloody right?

"Tell me then, if you are so wise, what do you think I should do?" He commanded her.

"That, my king, is your choice alone. However, I would like to leave you with an interesting thought if I may? Have you ever wondered if this is not all some sort of test on your father's part?" She reasoned.

"What do you mean, a test?" He wouldn't put it past Odin to do something like that.

"Well, let us theorize that maybe, just maybe, the Allfather knows everything. He knows of your deceit with the Jotnar, he knows of your prodding and goading of Thor to push him past his limits and get him into trouble. He obviously knows of your jealousy towards him. Perhaps this whole thing is really only a partial attempt to teach Thor a lesson. Maybe he wishes to teach you a lesson as well." She postulated.

"And what lesson would that be? Are you telling me he did all of this? On purpose? Even forced himself into Odinsleep?" He asked her, his brow furrowed.

"It would not be impossible, would it?" She asked him.

"No, it wouldn't be." He admitted reluctantly.

Her intense gaze penetrated his. "I think he is trying to bring you two together. He needs you to see how much you really do need your brother after all, how much you need your whole family and they you. He wants to find out if his second son will have the heart of a king…or the heart of a coward."

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*Woo! Thanks for all of the wonderful comments, faves, and follows. The next chapter will directly follow this one*


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The landscape was dark and soundless save for one voice that echoed out across the millions of stars that etched the sky.

"Our plans for the son of Laufey seem to be faltering, my lord. The girl, she is persuasive. He is not as filled with hate as he should be. There has already been divergence."

A second voice joined the first. It was booming, authoritative.

"It is of little consequence. He will fall into our hands as foretold. What has happened a million times over will yet happen again."

The first entity, the lesser one, spoke again, its head bowed regally.

"My lord, there have indeed been many paths, but she is an irregularity. By all accounts, she should not exist. Does she know what she is yet?"

"No," Came the reply from the greater. "It will not come to that either. The way will become clear, you will see to it. All will happen as it should."

"I will see to it." The weaker one said, nodding its head. "I will clear the path, master."

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	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The morning after his meeting with Sif and the Warriors Three, Loki entered the bed chamber where Odin still lay helpless. His mother still sat by the bed, ever vigilant over her husband.

"Have you slept at all, mother?"

Frigga looked up at her son with a tired smile.

"I have slept on and off a little, my son. I am alright. Come, sit with me for a while." She motioned for him to come next to her.

For a moment, Loki was reminded of the carefree days of his childhood, spent next to his mother in her garden, while she taught him her magic. He remembered one of those times. He was probably only about six years old. He had been late that morning. Thor had coerced him into a practice fight, although he had not wanted to. He had never really wanted to fight as a child, always preferring the diplomatic approach, but he knew he must learn to defend himself. Within three seconds of the brawl, Thor had pinned him to the ground, making him cry for mercy. He had run to his mother's garden, his eyes brimming with tears, only to find that she was no longer there. In her place on her bench was a lone, white dove, cooing softly in his direction. He had burst into tears then, sinking to his knees. The bird hopped off of the bench and over to him.

"Little boy, why are you crying?" It had asked him.

Loki had stopped crying immediately. The bird had spoken with his mother's voice.

"M-mother? Why are you a bird?" He had stammered, more curious than afraid.

He reached out to touch the bird, and it disappeared, causing him to gasp. Standing up and looking behind him, he saw Frigga smiling lovingly at him.

"Mother, was that you?" He questioned her, in awe.

She laughed gently, walking over to their bench and sitting down, patting it for him to come sit next to her.

"It was a projection of me, my love." She answered him.

"A projection?" He asked her.

"Yes. It is an image that I comes from my mind that I can cause others to see. Would you like me to teach you how to do it?"

He nodded excitedly.

Ever since that day, they had shared something special together, a skill that few possessed. Over the years, she had taught him not only how to defend himself, but to hone and sharpen his raw talents better than anyone else in the entire realm. She had given him reason to be different from his father and his brother.

He only wished that things were that simple now.

Doing as she told him, Loki pulled a chair up next to her, and looked upon the man he had called father for so many years.

Frigga remained silent while he processed his thoughts. She did not have to wait for very long.

"I have received petitions to end Thor's banishment." He looked away from her as he uttered his brother's name.

"Oh? And how has the king responded to such requests?" Frigga questioned calmly.

"I have not given my answer yet." Loki clenched his jaw, reestablishing eye contact with his mother. "The truth is, I am not sure if such a thing is possible…or if I even want to do it. Thor has been sent away to prove his worthiness. Bringing him back would be against father's wishes, would it not?"

"Yes, Thor was sent to Midgard to learn a lesson. What that would be, I do not know. I am not sure how your father would take to bringing him back, but I would not oppose you if you tried. Our family needs one another more than ever now." Frigga informed him.

Loki stood, letting out a whoosh of breath as he began to pace the room. "You sound just like her."

"You mean Lady Inkeri?" She asked him, trying to mask her amusement.

"Yes! She seems to think that father did this on purpose, that he wishes to test Thor and me, and bring the family together." He stopped pacing, looking up at her. "Do you think that this is possible?"

Frigga put her hand to her mouth, hiding the small smile that crossed her delicate features. In truth, she had never seen a woman that was able to influence her son in such a way.

"She is very perceptive, my son. I would not put it past your father to do something like that, or at least maybe that was part of his plan for banishing Thor." She gazed sadly down at her husband. "I wish we could ask him."

Loki frowned, conflicted in his emotions.

"I…" he stopped, trailing off, beginning to pace again.

Frigga looked at him curiously. "Go on," She urged gently.

"It is just that, I do not feel like myself. There is a side of me that wishes to give in to my hate, for Odin, for Thor," He gave her an anguished look. "Even for you. I want everyone, someone, to pay for what they did to me. But then, I hear her voice in my head, and I cannot bear the loathing anymore. She makes me want to forget all of it, to be a good man. Mother, she defies me and challenges me, she has even laughed in my very face! And yet all I can do in return is kneel to her like a pathetic lap dog!"

Frigga nodded with mock seriousness. "You are right, I have never seen you like this before. Perhaps she has cursed you."

Loki still paced, not looking up to see his mother's smirk.

"Or, maybe, just maybe, it's not her, but you." She said.

He stopped, hands clasped behind his back raising an eyebrow at her. "Mother what are you talking about? Do not jest, this is not funny."

Unable to contain her laughter any longer, Frigga stood, approaching him and laid a hand comfortingly upon his arm.

"My son, you behave as a man in love."

"That is ridiculous! Love is for fools." He scoffed. As soon as he said it, Inkeri's words from the forest came floating back to him. _My love,_ she had called him. He had nearly forgotten about it in his angst.

Frigga cupped his cheek gently. "She makes you try to be a better man. Do not deny that you love her, and that you need her."

Loki swallowed fearfully, but he made no effort to deny it. "I would only ruin her. I have nothing to offer her in return. She would come to hate me in the end."

Frigga shook her head sadly at him. "I do hope that someday you learn the untruth in your words."

He sighed, turning from her and changing the subject.

"I will check on Thor. I will tell him what's happened here." He said, approaching the door to leave.

Her words stopped him.

"Loki, I meant what I said yesterday. You are a good son. Please, send your brother my love, and know that you will always have it as well."

He nodded slightly, taking his leave.

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No sooner than Loki had made his way back to the throne room did he receive the same four visitors from the day before. He resisted the urge to sneer at them as they bowed before him.

"Well, well, eager aren't we?" He mused.

Sif was the first to rise before him, eyeing him boldly.

"My king," She said, her tone bereft of any pleasantries. "May we ask if you have come to a conclusion about the banishment of Thor?"

"I have." He smiled at her unnervingly.

They waited for him to speak again. Loki only did so when he that noticed Sif's anger towards him had risen a tad more. He really did enjoy provoking her.

"I have spoken with the queen mother at length on the matter, and I have decided to go speak with him. I will inform him of what has happened with our father. As far as his banishment, for the moment, he will stay where he is."

At that, Sif lunged toward him every so slightly. Fandral, seeing her ire, reached out to grab her arm before she could do anything she would regret.

"That is not good enough!" She growled, shaking off Fandral's hand.

Loki stepped forward from the throne, and began to circle her like a shark, eyeing her up and down with disgust.

"Darling Sif," He spoke, his voice dangerous and mocking. "Do you not trust your king?"

Her hateful look was answer enough for him.

He chuckled at her. "That's too bad. And here I was planning on having you come with me."

Sif's eyes widened. "What?" She hissed.

He ignored her and stepped back up to the throne sitting down casually.

"The Lady Sif and I will leave at dawn tomorrow. You will meet me in the observatory of the Bifrost. The rest of you will stay here." He commanded, leering down at them. "You may all leave now."

They bowed and exited the room, Sif taking one last suspicious glace at him before she left.

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"I do not like it!" Sif snarled as she barreled her way down the great halls of the palace, the Warriors Three hot on her tail. "He is up to something, as always."

Volstagg, ever the voice of reason, caught up to her, breathing heavily. "Sif, please! As I see it now, there is little else we can do. You cannot deny that Loki is right about Thor's punishment. The Allfather is the one who has carried that command out upon him, not Loki."

Sif stopped abruptly in the corridor, letting the other two catch up to her.

"You are forgetting, dear Volstagg, that our new _king_ may very well be the root cause of Thor's punishment. You know as well as I do that not many in Asgard would have magical abilities powerful enough to let in the Frost Giants."

"But until we have absolute proof of this, there is no course of action we can take. I for one do not wish to make such a treasonous accusation and risk being imprisoned or executed for no reason. It is foolishness." Fandral chimed in.

Volstagg nodded in agreement. "If he is guilty, then we will find out. Until then, Sif, you go with Loki to Midgard. Perhaps it will serve to distract him whilst we search for the truth."

"Fine," She sighed. "But if he makes one wrong move, I swear by the Norns that I will not hesitate to incapacitate him."

"What about his consort?" Hogun, usually preferring to stay in silence, spoke up.

The other three looked at him.

Fandral's eyes lit up. "The beautiful scientist? What about her?"

"Ah yes, Hogun is right." Said Volstagg, stroking his long beard. "She may have some sort of inkling to any possible deceptions on Loki's part."

"I would not mind questioning her." Fandral admitted all too eagerly.

Sif rolled her eyes. "Calm yourself, Fandral. She is nothing but one of the many women he has toyed with. A mere plaything to him. It is doubtful that she knows anything about it."

"Still," reasoned Volstagg, "It would not hurt to do some careful investigating. We shall dig into the matter tomorrow while you are gone."

The four nodded in agreement and continued on their way.

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	18. Chapter 18

More movie lines. Kinda. Don't sue me.

Chapter 18

Sif stood in her place at the observatory none to patiently, awaiting the dark king. She looked to her brother Heimdallr, ever steadfast at his watch as Guardian of The Gate.

She had not yet opened her mouth to speak to him, when she heard his voice resonate throughout the chamber.

"I have not yet caught our king in any wrongdoings, dear sister." He said, looking to her with his golden eyes.

"Yet?" Sif repeated. She had long ago stopped being surprised by his perceptiveness.

He did not answer.

Sif sighed and looked out to the bridge, finally seeing Loki approach on a grand horse. Dismounting, he nodded to her.

"Heimdallr," He commanded. "You know where we are going. Set us down in an inconspicuous place. Close to where my brother resides."

"It will be difficult, highness." Heimdallr cautioned him. "He has currently been imprisoned."

Loki's eyes lit up with unmistakable glee. "Imprisoned? What's he done now?"

"When the prince touched ground on Midgard, his hammer was not with him. It landed close by, but because he was so weak, he was unable to look for it. Three humans, two women and a man, found him. They took him in for a while, believing him to not be sound in mind. As of late, Thor decided to go looking for the hammer. However, the natives of the land had discovered it first, and they erected a high security facility around the hammer, so as to study it. Thor entered the place by force, and fought to take the hammer back, but was unable to lift it. They hold him there now, as their prisoner." Heimdallr explained.

Sif unsheathed her sword, readying her attack stance. "Then we shall liberate him!" She cried.

Loki shook his head at her. "Calm down, Sif. We will do nothing of the sort. I have a better idea."

He nodded to Heimdallr and watched as the man buried his sword into the special platform, the Bifrost pulling the two of them off into oblivion.

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The interrogation chamber lights flickered softly. Thor sat dejectedly in his seat, barely able to concentrate on what the small man in front of him had to say. He had seen the runes that were etched upon Mjolnir by his father. He was unworthy. And now, he was at the mercy of these people.

"Why don't you tell me where you received your training? Pakistan? Chechnya? Afghanistan? No, you strike me as more of the soldier of fortune type. Where was it? South Africa?"

Thor stayed silent. He knew better than to speak in these situations, always having been on the other side of things.

"Certain groups pay very well for a good mercenary like you. Who are you?"

Thor looked up at the man, slowly analyzing him. He was not a threat as for as he was concerned. He kept his silence.

The man sighed.

"One way or another, we find out what we need to know. We're good at that."

A tinkling noise sounded from the man's pocket. He reached in and pulled out what Thor guessed to be a crude communication device.

"Don't go anywhere." The man stated before opening the door to leave.

Then the door shut, leaving another man standing in his place.

"Loki," Thor breathed, flabbergasted and relieved all at the same time. "What are you doing here?"

"I had to see you." Loki whispered.

"What's happened? Tell me, is it Jotunheim? Let me explain to father-"

Loki interrupted him seriously. "Father is in the Odinsleep. It happened shortly after you left. Mother will not leave his side. She fears he will never wake up this time. The burden of the throne has fallen to me."

Thor sighed heavily and put his head in his hands.

"Can I come home? May I see him?" Thor appealed to his brother.

Loki shook his head.

"Regrettably, the truce with Jotunheim is conditional upon your exile." Loki stopped, cringing inwardly. He wanted to rip Thor's head off, he wanted to tell him he could never come home, that Odin was dead because of him, and that his mother did not want him back.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Thor petitioned desperately.

Loki turned from him, disgusted by the pitiful look that had graced his brother's face.

"I will try. And if anything happens with father, I promise I will retrieve you, but until then, I must carry out his wishes."

Thor looked down at his hands sadly.

"I understand. Thank you for coming, Loki." He whispered.

Loki turned back to face Thor. "Mother sends her love. I must go. Do be careful with these primitives."

Thor managed a small smile.

"Tell her, I love her as well. And I am proud of you, brother."

You would not be so proud if you knew what I was, thought Loki.

"Thor?"

"Yes, Loki?"

Loki rolled his eyes. "You'll have two minutes. Goodbye."

Thor stood, confused as Loki disappeared and Sif reappeared in his place.

"Sif!" He exclaimed, pulling her into a bear hug.

"Thor!" She struggled to breathe, returning his embrace. "We do not have much time. Loki has concealed us from their monitoring devices. Come with me. I don't care what he says, we are going home."

Sif pulled away from him, grabbing his hand to leave, but Thor stood still.

"Sif, I cannot. My father was right, and I won't endanger those in Asgard again for my selfish purposes." He reached up to stroke her cheek gently. "No matter how much I wish to come home, this is my home for now."

Sif's eyes darkened. "You would not come home even if you knew that your dear brother was the cause of all of this? Haven't you ever wondered how the Jotnar really got into the vaults that day? You have been under his scheming thumb this entire time!"

Thor sighed. "Did you not think that I hadn't thought of that, Sif? None of that matters now. It was my choice to act how I did, no matter how Loki may have behaved, and now my father wishes me to reap the consequences."

Sif crossed her arms. "So, what, you just expect us to be obedient subjects, poised and ready to cater to Loki's every whim?"

Thor's jaw tightened. "No, I expect you to serve your king with loyalty, just as you have served my father."

"And if he gives us reason to doubt him?" Sif proposed stubbornly.

"Then I'm sure I will be receiving another unexpected visit from you." Thor responded.

Sif's eyes found their way to the clock.

"It is almost time." She said.

Thor approached her quickly, pulling her to him, running his fingers through her long, black hair. Sif swallowed hard. Only in the practice ring had they ever been this close before.

"I will be alright. And I will come back, I promise." He said, leaning down to place a chaste kiss upon her lips.

Sif realized that she had been holding her breath the entire time. She exhaled, putting a hand to his cheek.

"Goodbye." She said, and stepped back from him, disappearing.

Thor stumbled back to his chair and sat, returning his head to his hands.

"Goodbye." He murmured.

The door to his cell opened, revealing the return of his interrogator.

"Goodbye? I just got back."

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Inkeri was putting the final touches on a little side project as she heard a knock at her office door. Looking up, she hid the item in her desk drawer and went to reluctantly see who would be visiting her. Opening the door, she saw Volstagg and Fandral, both of them looking as suspicious as ever. She could tell they wanted something.

"Good sirs, Volstagg and Fandral. To what to I owe the pleasure of your visit today? Please, come in." she motioned for them to enter.

"Lady Inkeri," Began Volstagg as they both walked in to her humble office. "We have come on behalf of the king to check the progress of your turret upgrades."

Inkeri raised an eyebrow at them and smiled. After dealing with Loki these past few months, she had forgotten just how badly everyone else usually lied. The two warriors must have heard the tail end of their made up conversation in the throne room.

"Ah, yes. The upgrades we were speaking about. I have devised a way to increase power output by six percent. I am also writing an algorithm to make their tracking systems more accurate. Does my king wish to have a formal report brought back to him?"

Fandral threw a dashing smile her way. "No, not at all my lady. A verbal report will do." He sighed dramatically. "It is unfortunate that we must behave in such a way. I, for one am still in shock about the Jotnar breaking into Asgard, and Thor, why it feels like just yesterday that we all supped with him together."

Inkeri nodded. "Ay, it is a terrible shame."

"I say!" Exclaimed Volstagg as if he had just had a thought. "You know, Fandral, perhaps the lovely Lady Inkeri could tell us her theory of how the Jotnar could have penetrated the vault." He looked at Inkeri as if he were confiding something important in her. "Fandral and I were just having a discussion about this. We can't seem to figure out just how it was done in order to prevent it from happening again. Perhaps, my most intelligent friend, you could give us poor warriors some idea of what to look for."

Inkeri suppressed a groan. So incriminating Loki is what they were up to.

"Well," she began, "It could have happened any number of ways. The Jotnar could have gotten a hold of some sort of device to open a portal through."

Fandral nodded. "That's what I was thinking, but then I wondered if maybe it could have also been an evil sorcerer to have the power to let them in."

Inkeri gave them a tight smile.

"Anything is possible I suppose. You don't think someone here on Asgard would have done that do you?" She managed to look horrified, playing along with their little game.

"Do you think it possible? Is there anyone here with powers such as those?" Volstagg questioned slyly.

"Well, there are many of us who have magical talents. Even I, myself admittedly have the ability to do something like that." She stopped speaking, feigning fright. "Oh, King Loki does not believe that I did it does he? Have you come to arrest me?"

Fandral reached out to her, rubbing her arm gently. "Oh heavens, no! Come now Volstagg, look what you've done. You've scared her out of her wits."

"Do not worry, child, we were just having a discussion, oh do not be frightened." Volstagg began to wave his hands nervously.

Inkeri slowly calmed her breathing and nodded, smiling again.

"Come, Fandral, let's leave the lady to her work." Volstagg bowed to her.

"Thank you for the discussion, Lady Inkeri." Fandral reached out and held her hand, pulling it up to his lips for a kiss. Her smile never faltered, but the urge to rip her hand from his grasp and pummel him into the floor with her energy was strong.

"Good day Sir Volstagg, Sir Fandral."

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As soon as Loki and Sif reached the Bifrost gate room again, he vanished into thin air. He couldn't stand to be with her anymore, with any of them really. Reappearing in his bed chambers, he transformed his clothing into his more usual long tunic and dark trousers.

Stepping out into the living area, he was not so startled to find an auburn haired woman at his writing table, her feet on it and her nose in one of his books.

"You look comfortable." She said without looking up.

Unable to help himself, he smirked.

"And you changed your hair color. What a pity." He complained.

"It didn't really match with anything other than black or gold." She explained distractedly. Her eyes widened at what she was reading.

His smirk turned naughty as he silently approached her.

"What a delightfully horrible concept." She whispered to herself as she read aloud. " _The mechanical Hound slept but did not sleep, lived but did not live in its gently humming, gently vibrating, softly illuminated kennel back in a dark corner of the fire house. The dim light of one in the morning, the moonlight from the open sky framed through the great window, touched here and there on the brass and copper and the steel of the faintly trembling beast. Light flickered on bits of ruby glass and on sensitive capillary hairs in the nylon-brushed nostrils of the creature that quivered gently, its eight legs spidered under it on rubber padded paws._

 _Nights when things got dull, which was every night, the men slid down the brass poles, and set the ticking combinations of the olfactory system of the hound and let loose rats in the fire house areaway. Three seconds later the game was done, the rat caught half across the areaway, gripped in gentle paws while a four-inch hollow steel needle plunged down from the proboscis of the hound to inject massive jolts of morphine or procaine."_

Suddenly his voice was in her ear. "Ah, yes, that one is one of my favorites."

Inkeri jumped out of her seat, nearly losing the book in the process. She was met with his hysterical laughter, coming from behind her. Before she could scold him, however, he had already gathered her in his arms and was pulling her out of the chair into a sweet kiss.

She smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Ah, I see you've missed me?" She asked him, leaning down to kiss him in the crook of his neck.

"Always." He half spoke, half groaned.

Inkeri grinned, knowing the effect she was having on him, and began to leave a trail of delicate kisses up his jawline.

"And I have missed you as well, my king." She whispered sultrily in his ear.

He shivered, pulling her closer. "Tell me, do you enjoy toying with me so?"

She grinned wider and nibbled at his earlobe. "A little. Do you object to my advances?"

"Definitely not." He answered, his hand beginning to fall from the small of her back, all the way down to…

"Ahem." A servant girl that Inkeri had never seen before scuttled in, depositing a tray of wine and cheeses for the evening.

She pulled away from him quickly, Loki eyeing the girl severely as she quickly ran out.

Inkeri giggled and shook her head, going over to pour them each a glass of wine. "Oh there will be gossip now."

"Let them talk. Besides, if I wanted to, I could give them something much more interesting to gossip about involving us." He suggested as he moved around behind her, his fingertips softly tracing lines up and down her arms. He was delighted to hear something between a small sigh and a moan escape her lips. He reached around her to take a glass of wine, and began sipping on it with a smug grin.

She turned to look at him harshly, taking a sip of her own wine. "Don't tease me like that. You know that I…"

He smiled impishly and sat down in a plush green love seat that was facing the fireplace. "You what? You find me irresistible?"

She smirked and shrugged her shoulders, sitting down across from him. "Yes." She answered simply.

He eyed her up and down, surprised. He had not expected her to admit it aloud.

"So, how'd it go with Thor?" She asked, knowing full well that to mention his brother would be like poking a cobra with a stick.

Loki's stomach turned at the mention of Thor. He rubbed his belly gently.

"Must you ruin the mood with talk of him?" He groaned, taking a gulp of his wine to sooth himself.

"Well, I was just curious." She smiled innocently at him.

"He is fine. He will stay on Midgard until he can find a way back here." His stomach twisted again, this time the pain was like a sharp stab to the gut.

Inkeri frowned, her senses suddenly on full alert. "Loki, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I'd just prefer not to think about it right now." He answered stubbornly.

He made to get up out of his seat, but realized with horror that his legs wouldn't move. The pain in his stomach grew and he doubled over with a yelp.

"Loki!" Inkeri screamed, rushing from her place to kneel before him.

The pain began to spread throughout his body, coursing through his veins like a fire.

"Call Eir." He groaned, before crashing to the floor, slipping into a state of complete unconsciousness.

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*Some notes on this one- As always...don't kill me. Also, I've decided to leave Thor on Earth for now. I figured, hey, why the heck not? This is an alternate universe anyway, so ya know. Plus this is a Loki story not a Thor story. I do have plans for him eventually, but for now, he can live on Earth and be Donald Blake. It's good for him. :-D

Oh, also, in the comics Sif and Heimdallr are siblings.

Also, I've been spelling Jotunheimr wrong this whole time...so many random r's in that language. I've anglicized some names and not the others. Oh well.

I feel like I had more to say, but I can't remember now. Gonna _try_ to get a couple of chapters up tomorrow, or at least one, but if I don't, I'll get some up within the next couple of days. Saturday I'll be on a plane all day, so that means I get to write!

Thanks for all of the great reviews. I'm trying to just reply personally to them now, as it's easier.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Time passed so slowly. Voices filtered in and out of Loki's consciousness. Eir, speaking. Her authoritative voice tinged with fear. His mother, weeping. She was so strong, he could hardly ever remember a time she had openly wept in front of him. There was another presence, of course. He could feel her in his mind, soothing him through the rough patches. Each time his body convulsed with spasms of pain, and he felt the sweet release of the blackness begin to overtake him, he would feel a small, warm hand upon his bare chest, bringing him back just a little. Easing the burn.

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Inkeri lifted her hand from Loki's chest, reaching up to push the damp, sweat soaked hair from his face. She looked up at Frigga, sitting across from her. Eir had gone, at the behest of the queen, to check on the condition of the Allfather.

"It has been three days," Inkeri sighed, barely able to hold her head aright. She shifted the position of her legs slightly, just to see if they still worked. Thankfully, they did. Inkeri was afraid to tell the queen just how weak she really was. "I have brought him back from the edge countless times, but his body will not heal. Sometimes, when he is more lucid, I can feel him trying to heal himself as well, but to no avail."

Poison, Eir had said. The very wine they had both been drinking three nights ago was laced with it. Eir could not identify the exact substance, nor could she explain why it had no effect on Inkeri, but Frigga and Inkeri both knew the reason. Whoever had poisoned him had to have done so with his specific physiology in mind. Someone who knew exactly what he was.

Frigga's eyes met Inkeri's, the former giving her a rueful look before she averted her eyes to her son.

Inkeri frowned. "My queen? There's something that you're not telling me isn't there?"

Frigga rose, clasping her hands behind her back. She crossed the room, her back to Inkeri, and stared into the dead fireplace, put out for Loki's benefit.

"There is a legend. I had forgotten it until now. There was no reason for me to remember." Turning, Frigga faced her again.

Inkeri tilted her head to the side, waiting for her to continue.

"The Jotnar are a warrior race, very similar to our own. The Frost Giants are also gifted with long life, and they too grow old, just like we do. However, there are ways in which we differ greatly. When one of them is too old, or sick," Frigga glanced down tenderly at Loki, "or even too small at birth, to continue living in the harsh environments without being a burden, they are said to commit a form of ritual suicide. Or, in the case of the children, they are sacrificed to their gods, left to Oblivion."

Inkeri shuddered, taking Loki's hand in her own. No matter what loathing he may feel toward his adoptive father, she was at least glad that Odin had saved him.

"And the ones who have a choice?" Inkeri asked. "How do they end their lives?"

"Most would prefer the honor of dying in battle, even if such battles are put on for the benefit of the disabled one by another Jotun." Frigga answered. "However there is tell of some, living high in the mountains of Jotunheim who practice a different method. Have you ever heard a creature called the höggormurinn?"

Inkeri furrowed her brow, about to answer, when Loki began to writhe again, calling out gibberish in his sleep. He breathing quickened and he gripped the sheet, grasping it tightly, knuckles white, as the pain took over his body once again.

"It's alright, my love." Inkeri whispered tiredly, cupping his cheek, a golden glow emanating from her palm. He let out a long breath, his body relaxing and becoming peaceful once more.

Inkeri glanced back up at the queen, who watched over them both with a small knowing smile.

"The höggormurinn," Inkeri murmered, her voice had become hoarse, "is a serpent, is it not? Known to dwell deep in the icy mountainous caves of Jotunheim. I thought it was harmless, a blind, nocturnal creature, that feeds upon the moss that grows deep within those caves. Their venom is about as poisonous as that of a bee sting." Provided one wasn't allergic to bees, Inkeri thought.

"This is true." said Frigga, "However, it is said that when killed, the venom of the snake is combined with its blood, forming a sort of toxin that is only lethal to the Jotnar."

Inkeri's blood ran cold, speaking what the queen could not say. "A toxin that has no cure, because there was never any need to find one."

Frigga brought her hand to her mouth, nodding slowly, and resuming her place in her chair across from Inkeri's.

"By all accounts, he should have been dead by now." Inkeri stated numbly.

"If not for your efforts, my dear, he most likely would have died the very day he drank the poison." Frigga admitted.

Inkeri grew silent, the wheels in her brain beginning to turn.

"Do you know who may have wanted to assassinate him in such a manner? Who would have even known…?" She inquired, her trailing off referring to the unspoken knowledge between them.

Frigga shook her head.

"There are none on Asgard that know save for us, and his father. Not even Thor knows of it."

"And the maiden that served us the wine? Was she ever apprehended?" Inkeri wondered aloud.

"She was. I interrogated her myself. I know for a fact that she knew nothing of what was in the wine. We've traced it back to the supplier and found no real evidence of tampering. Whoever did this was very clever."

Inkeri smiled ever so slightly, imagining the queen in an interrogation chamber, drilling the truth out of her victim. Someone who had dared to harm her favorite son. It would have been a fearsome thing to behold.

"If someone here on Asgard was trying to usurp the throne, or get revenge, they would have gone about it by other means." Inkeri said.

The people of her home world were not beyond such a move as high treason, but they would have carried it out in a much bolder manner. They most likely would have challenged Loki's honor in battle, or if it were a group of rebels, they would have attempted to storm the castle and take the throne by force.

"What of the Jotnar?" Inkeri continued. "Is it possible that Laufey could have sensed that Loki was one of his kin when they were there for a time? I am sure they had at least verbal contact with each other. Perhaps he wishes his long lost son dead. Loki still has the right to rule Jotunheim, he could challenge his real father for the throne." The words felt odd in Inkeri's mouth. She had never imagined she would be having this conversation with the queen mother, let alone about Loki.

"It is a possibility." Frigga agreed. "However, the Jotnar do not seem like the kind to lower themselves to such subterfuge."

"No. You're right. This is the work of a coward. The Frost Giants may be many things, but they do not slink about in secrecy like craven jellyfish." Inkeri said, thoughtfully.

She rubbed her forehead and exhaled slowly. Loki seemed to be doing alright for the moment. "My queen. I am sorry, but I must lay down for a minute. Will you…will you help me to the sofa?"

Frigga's eyes widened and she nodded, rising from her seat again to help Inkeri out of her chair. Inkeri put her arm around the queen's shoulders as they wobbled no more than five feet to the couch. She plopped into it with a sigh, laying her head on the cool velvet armrest.

Feeling a hand on her forehead, she looked up into the worried eyes of the queen. She suddenly wished very much that her own mother could be there at the moment.

"You're burning up." Stated Frigga uneasily.

Inkeri nodded, explaining. "My immune system is weakened. I have to rest to regain my energy. Then, maybe I can start work on some sort of cure. That is, if I can keep us both alive that long."

Losing composure for a moment, she looked tearfully at the bed, then back to Frigga.

"I won't let him die." She vowed, resolutely. 'Please, promise you'll tell my parents-"

Frigga interrupted her, understanding the underlying meaning of her words.

"Neither of you are going to die, my child. I promise. Now, get some sleep. I will watch over him." Frigga soothed her.

Inkeri started to drift off, unable to help herself.

"I-I think I've put some measures in place to keep him stable for a little while. Will you wake me if anything happens?" She requested.

The queen nodded and left her to continue monitoring him.

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Loki felt himself propelled back to reality for a moment. A hand slid into his, and a soft voice was speaking to him.

"My son, have you awoken?"

It hurt to open his eyes all the way, so he squinted up at her through half closed slits.

"Mother." Was all he could whisper. His lips felt cracked and dry, and his mouth tasted of something bitter and metallic. He felt her lift a cup to his mouth, water touching his parched lips. He drank greedily until he could take no more, the water spilling out of his mouth onto his pillow.

"W-what's happened?" He managed to ask her.

"Three days ago, you were poisoned." She explained. "The healers have been trying to keep you stable ever since."

Three days was all it had been? It felt to him that nearly a lifetime had passed.

"Why have they not healed me?" He opened his eyes a little further, feeling a bit stronger after he had drank the water.

Frigga rubbed the back of his hand gently.

"It is a poison that our healers have no knowledge of." She hesitated for a moment. "However, Inkeri and I have been able to surmise that the toxin which affects you is most likely only capable of harming a Jotun."

Loki read his mother's face well.

"And so I am to die?"

"No." Answered his mother firmly. "We will find a cure to this."

"Oh, of course." He responded sourly. "Let's get the scientists working on finding an antidote for the venom inside of their Frost Giant king."

His breath caught in his lungs at that, and he began to cough violently. Grabbing him by the shoulders, Frigga pulled him up into a sitting position and put the water to his lips again. He drank feebly, sputtering water and choking through the spasm. It passed, and he leaned against the headboard, closing his eyes for a moment. The same, sick metallic taste permeated his mouth once more. Blood, he realized.

His mother stroked his hair, and he opened his eyes again. As soon as his vision came into focus, he noticed his little scientist, curled into a ball on the sofa. His eyes grew wide with fear and he turned his attention to Frigga.

"Get her out of here!" He hissed furiously.

Frigga looked at him sadly.

"I doubt I could do that even if I tried. She will not leave your bedside."

"She must." His eyes began to glaze over with unshed tears as panic began to take over his body. "You know what she can do."

"And because of her, you are still alive this day, my son. She will not stop fighting for you."

He looked over to her sleeping form again. She appeared so frail. She barely resembled the same woman who had nearly broken his jaw merely a few days ago.

"Inkeri." He whispered, laying his heavy head against the bed once more, a tear escaping his eye.

Frigga wiped his cheek gently.

"Rest, my love. We will try not to let it come to that."

He nodded weakly and slid back down to his pillow. The familiar feeling of sharp pins and needles stabbing him all over was beginning to return.

"Damnable, stubborn, frustrating woman." He muttered feverishly."I love her."

Frigga smiled at her son. "I know, my darling, I know. Sleep now, so that you may tell her that yourself when you are better."

He swallowed thickly, letting the sweet darkness of sleep overtake him again.

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	20. Chapter 20

"When our lives are over and all that remains

Are our skulls and bones let's take it to the grave

And hold me in your arms, hold me in your arms

I'll be buried here with you

And I'll hold in these hands all that remains"- Skulls, Bastille

Chapter 20

Inkeri awoke to a commotion coming from her left. Just how long had she been asleep?

"Get them out of here!" Frigga yelled, her index finger pointing menacingly towards the door.

Servants began scattering from the room in fear until only Frigga, Eir and Inkeri remained. Inkeri's eyes darted to Loki on the bed. His skin was sapphire blue, his eyes crimson. Even in this situation, Inkeri thought he looked glorious. He thrashed about violently, scratching out with his long nails at anyone that would come near him. He yelled something out in a foreign tongue as Eir attempted to restrain one of his hands, and Frigga the other.

Inkeri lifted herself gingerly off of the couch, testing her strength. It was good enough. Rushing to him, she crawled past Eir onto the bed and placed both hands on his chest. He was abnormally warm for being in his Jotun state. Inkeri realized with a sinking dread that he must be close to death now, now that Odin's transformation that had held him in his Aesir body for so long was finally failing.

"What do you think are you doing? He is dangerous." Hissed Eir. Frigga, however, made no attempt to stop her.

Inkeri wondered offhandedly how long the healer had actually known of Loki's true nature. Had she just found out merely seconds ago, or had she always suspected that he had been different? It did not seem to matter either way at this point, to either Eir or Inkeri.

Inkeri ignored Eir and continued, her hands tightening on his chest as she concentrated. His lungs were barely functioning, his breath coming in and out in small puffs. His heartbeat was beginning to accelerate slightly.

Inkeri let a choked sob escape from her lips. This couldn't be happening. Not now. She hadn't had time to find a cure yet. She was going to bring in her lab equipment and run tests and…and…

And now there was no time left. Just like that, his life was being ripped away from him.

"It's not long now." She managed to articulate, tears flowing in a long line down her face. The two women at her sides froze.

 _Loki, are you still with me?_ She tried speaking with him. The colors usually that illuminated his thoughts were dull and gray.

There was no reply. His mind was beginning to deteriorate as well.

Inkeri shook her head in disbelief.

"No." She cried shakily, laying her head on his chest. His heartbeat sped just a little more.

More sounds of commotion filled the room, but this time, not from the bed. The three women looked up startled.

In the doorway stood Odin, looking weary and exhausted, but very much awake. He hung back quietly from the bed, almost as if he wasn't sure what to do. Inkeri had never seen him in such a way.

"Does my son still live?" He questioned urgently.

No one made a move to answer him right away.

He looked sharply at Eir.

Coming to her senses slightly, she answered him quietly. "For the moment, my king. But it seems that he only has minutes left."

Eir did not have to touch him or use any of her scanning devices to know the horrible truth of what lie ahead for Loki.

Odin braced himself against the wall for support, but managed to keep himself upright, staring blankly at the bed.

Inkeri turned her attention back to her patient. His heart beat wildly now, and he was beginning to go into cardiac arrest. This was not a time to be indecisive or afraid.

She took a full glance at Frigga, and they regarded one another with silent understanding. The queen was heartbroken, and her gaze was pleading. Inkeri knew Frigga would never ask her for what she really wanted, not out loud. It was too hard of a decision for someone to make.

Inkeri took a deep breath and exhaled. She suddenly felt steady, even peaceful. She returned her hands to their previous position on Loki's chest, resting her head on his heart, and began to glow.

The golden illumination started from her hands, and slowly began to radiate out to the rest of her body. Loki's heartbeat slowed to a more normal state, and his lungs began to fill with air.

That was when he regained enough consciousness to realize what she was doing.

 _STOP!_ He screamed, attempting to will his body to move.

She didn't stop. She couldn't.

Pushing more, she gathered up all of her energy, and she gave him everything.

His eyes opened then, glistening and red and feral. With all the strength he could muster, he grabbed her wrists with both of his blue hands, attempting to throw her off. She looked up at him, holding fast to her position.

 _You are so beautiful this way._ She smiled at him sadly, referring to his Jotun form. _I wish I could have experienced you like this more._

 _Stop, please._ He pleaded with her. He _begged_ her.

Her body began to shine even more magnificently than he had ever seen. The warm yellow glow encompassed them both now.

 _Let me die!_ He tried to struggle, but it was no use. All he could do was watch the life flow out of her and into him, like an accident happening in slow motion before his very eyes that he was powerless to stop.

Her eyelids began to flutter, but her smile never faltered.

 _I love you._ She breathed.

"NO!" He yelled, arching his back, trying to break free.

And then it was over. His back hit the bed, his hands returned to their normal pink, and she lay still on his chest like a rag doll. She was so very still.

His whole body began to shake, and he let go of her wrists as gently as he could. Purple and green marks had already begun to form on them, bruises left by his frantic touch. He sat up, gathering her to him. She stirred, ever so slightly, and for a split second, he had hope. He lifted her head gently. Her green eyes that had once sparkled so brightly had now lost all of their shine.

"Don't leave me." He whispered. They both knew what he meant. Don't leave me all alone.

She managed to give him a loving smirk, before her eyes shut themselves once more. Then, her body began to glow again, slowly at first, until it became nearly blinding. Loki let go of her, shielding his eyes. Odin protectively took a step forward, the look on his face growing tense.

At that, the room seemed to explode with light. Through his nearly blinded vision, Loki saw her body rise. She was hauntingly beautiful, like a phoenix ascending from the ashes. Her long hair cascaded out from her body, taking the appearance of white fire. She looked up to the heavens, as if she were waiting for the Valkyries to pull her into Valhalla. Her body shimmered and blurred, and then began to splinter and break apart. Holding her hands out to her sides, she closed her eyes and burst, seemingly shattering into a million bright pieces, leaving nothing left but little amber sparks raining down from the ceiling.

And then Loki was alone.

Time seemed to stand still. His mother was crying, Odin stood there gravely, like a solemn statue. Eir had a hand clasped to her mouth. Somewhere, someone was screaming. The sound was horrible and deep and savage.

Not until much later did he realize that those cries had been coming from him.

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*(Digs own grave, steps into it. Hands everyone a shovel.) Dontfreakout! Just trust meee. But if you wanna get mad and beat me up, it's okay, I can take it. I am an ENTP after all, and we have no feelings.(not true) But seriously, just trust me, and please keep reading and commenting. :-)*


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The royal family stands silently and respectfully at the edge of the great river that winds its way through the southern part of the city, leading off of the realm eternal and into the skies beyond. Another family stands next to them, a woman with golden blonde hair and shining green eyes, and a man with auburn hair, the public defender. The queen holds the woman's hand comfortingly in her own. The Allfather stands tall and proud, Gungnir at his side. The second son is also there, clad in a black cloak that covers his face, and it makes him look even more foreboding than usual. Some say that he wears the hooded cape to hide his true face. There are rumors of a few who said they saw him during his sickness, appearing with cerulean skin and red-orange eyes. The features of an _ettin._ Most who claimed such lies were laughed at, some were even cast out. No royal heir of Asgard would ever have the markings of such a monster. The ones who knew better said that he grieved for a past lover. They said that he killed her accidentally, the little scientist that had been seen with him so often. The maids and manservants that would serve the later shifts would hear him sometimes, calling her name out in the dead of night, enduring the same twisted nightmares over and over again.

All eyes turn to the three boats that float peacefully down the river. Two of them are honored soldiers that have been killed in the vaults by Jotun hands. One of the soldiers is said to be an orphan, raised in the palace with the princes themselves. Their funerals should have been commemorated sooner, had the Allfather not been incapacitated and the new king so ill. The third boat has been left blank, with no body for it to guide into the afterlife. Only a few belongings of the dead girl lie on its decks. The people wonder what could have happened to her.

The boats make their way out into the open mouth of the river, and the Allfather signals his soldiers. Three burning arrows hit their targets with ease, and the people watch as they float off of the edge into oblivion below.

The young prince releases two balls of light into the air, along with the couple that stand next to him. A few others do the same, as a symbol to open the gates of Valhalla to the souls of their loved ones.

The people stand solemnly in respect for the young lives that were lost. When a few of them glance back up moments later, they aren't surprised to see that the prince is already gone, disappeared into the night. Selfish prince, he probably doesn't really care anyway, they think.

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Loki sat up in his bed that night of the funeral, staring numbly into the light of a flickering candle at his bedside. He was slowly regaining strength. Eir had told him that the poison was completely gone from his system, but the damage to his internal organs was still there. It would take him a few more days to fully heal himself. Until then, he would hide in the shadows, avoiding his family until he could think of a plan. He wouldn't stay on Asgard anymore, there was nothing left for him here. He needed to find whoever had done this. He would make them pay.

Reaching out into the darkness, he felt around his nightstand for the little object that her parents had found in her desk. Her mother had delivered it personally to him, assuming that she was planning to give it to him as a gift. He began to panic for a moment, thinking it was no longer there, that perhaps one of the servants had made off with it. His breathing eased as soon as his hand touched cool metal. Picking it up, he turned the small, flat item over in his hands. It was an exquisite piece of metalwork- copper and gold forged together, and silver swirls etched all the way from the thin tail to its serpentine head. Loki had shown it to some of the other scientists, but none of them seemed to know what she had created it for. Her mother had guessed that it was a special bookmark, made in the shape of his favorite animal. He knew her better than that, though. He expected that everything she had invented would be used for something important.

Clutching the little snake tightly, he closed his eyes, just for a minute. He wanted to sleep. He needed to sleep, to heal himself. Every time he closed his eyes, though, she would be there, in his nightmares. Sometimes she was terrified, lost in a dark hallway calling for him. Other times, they were together in the forest again, but she couldn't remember who she was. In one especially horrifying dream, she had been in the vault during the coronation, and he was one of the Jotun intruders. Actually, in every single one, he had appeared to her in his natural form. She was never afraid of him though, even in the vault dream. Every night he would dream of her and every night he would wake up screaming her name, clutching at empty air.

 _Loki._

His eyes fired open.

 _I'm so tired, Loki._

He shook his head violently, trying to rid himself of the echoes of her voice. So now he was hearing her in his waking moments? He must have fallen asleep for a while.

Throwing aside his covers, he rose, looking to the clock on his bedside table. It was only a little after midnight, but there was no use in him trying to sleep anymore.

Throwing on his dark cloak, he took a look at himself in the mirror. His eyes were sunken and his cheekbones were starting to look gaunt and hollow. He hadn't been able to eat much since…the incident.

Closing his eyes, he said a spell to disguise himself, taking on the typical Aesir appearance. Blonde hair, blue eyes, dreadfully boring.

 _Still reciting those pointless spells? I'm disappointed. You know you could just do it by thinking._

Loki shuddered violently at his sudden hallucination and gripped his bedpost.

"You are not real!" He cried out desperately into the darkness of his bedchambers. "You are dead!"

His voice broke as he yelled the word 'dead', and he slid to the ground, cradling his head in his shaking hands.

"You are dead." He whispered again dejectedly to no one but himself.

Erratic breathing gave way to a demented chuckle that sprang from his throat. From outside of his chambers, he must sound like a lunatic.

"At least I've frightened the servants sufficiently." He muttered to himself with a sigh and rose off the ground.

Straightening his clothing, he disappeared with a poof, heading for a particular favorite spot of his, deep within the underbelly of the city.

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*So sorry that took so long you guys! As soon as I got back from my month long vacation, I got thrown into a 65 hour work week. Things will be crazy till the beginning of October, but I'll try and update as much as I can until then. This part of the story is nearly done...I think...just flyin by the seat of my pants here. And what I mean by that, is that this is part one. There will be a second part to this story. Okay, I'm off to sleep and eat and work some more.*


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Loki reached out and grabbed the bar keep's arm, none too gently.

"Another ale. Fetch me one, woman." He slurred.

The woman's eyes widened and she looked down her nose at him with obvious disgust. The young blonde drunkard had been in her particular pub for the past few hours, and he had been a nuisance ever since. At first, he had sulked menacingly in the corner for quite a while, downing ale after ale. His tone with her was polite at the start, but was growing increasingly more belligerent as the night wore on into the wee hours of the morning.

"My lord," She said, addressing him respectfully, only because he was a paying patron in her pub after all. "I think you've had enough."

His eyes narrowed, and his grip tightened on her arm.

"Ignorant wench! Do you not know who you speak with? Do you know who I am? No, I suppose you don't, you thick-headed dolt. I should have you quartered and drawn." He began to titter suddenly at his words, his anger suddenly giving way to mirth. "Or was it drawn and quartered?"

He lifted his free hand in the air, growing deathly serious again, his long index finger unsteadily pointed at her appalled face.

"I will have you hanged, if you don't get me another drink, you little b-"

"Excuse me, is everything all right here?"

Loki winced as soon as he heard the words come from the doorway of the small tavern. Looking up, with his hand still wrapped around the woman's arm, he watched as the speaker slowly approached them.

"I do believe I asked if there was a problem here." He said again.

Loki let go of the woman, and she walked off with a huff, rubbing her aching arm. He looked up at the man addressing him, and his lips curled into a hateful smile.

"Fandral the Dashing. Looks like you've come to rescue the lady at just the right time, as usual. In this case though, it wasn't a lady, but an old hag. You must be growing desperate."

Fandral held his composure and threw a friendly smile the stranger's way, although the smile never reached his eyes.

"It seems as if you know me, my good sir, yet I do not know you."

Loki laughed menacingly.

"That's because you're stupid!" He sputtered out.

Pounding his fist on the table, he began to look for the woman again.

"Woman! Where is my drink?"

Fandral leaned down and grabbed the other man gently by the arm.

"Come, friend. The lady was right. You have had enough for one night. I do not know what has happened to you to put you in such a way, but you must-"

Loki stood, enraged, and ripped his arm from Fandral's hand.

"You should not have done that." He whispered venomously.

Before Fandral could even think to respond, Loki was upon him, wailing on him with a sick, swift punch to his jaw.

Fandral staggered back, surprised for a brief second, until his warrior's training took over, and he lunged at Loki with an angry cry, knocking him back into the table. With one hand, he pushed his chest against the wood, and the other balled into a fist and made contact with Loki's stomach, causing him to double over in pain.

Fandral took a step back, and tried to calm himself. An eerie silence had fallen over the whole tavern as the other patrons watched the altercation. Most of them knew Fandral, or they knew of him. There was good reason that he was one of the Warriors Three, and most knew better than to go up against him in a fight.

"Please, I don't want to hurt you. You're drunk. You need to go home." He cautioned.

Loki looked up at the other man, his eyes glistening with contempt. He was about to respond, when his eye caught a woman sitting at the bar, the only person with her back to them. She wore a long green cape, and her hair was so beautiful. It shone emerald and hung in soft waves down her back. Her hand clutched the handle of her mug, and she gently and nonchalantly brought it to her lips, acting as if nothing was currently happening. Loki couldn't help but stare.

"Turn around! Let me see you. I want to see your face!" He yelled in her direction. His expression was pained and his hands began to shake.

She didn't move, but just sat there and drank her ale.

Fandral looked at the young man in front of him, growing concerned, and looked to the over bar where he was yelling.

"Friend," He spoke softly, beginning to pity the befuddled man in front of him. He reached out gently, with an open hand, as if to touch him comfortingly.

Loki couldn't take his eyes off of the woman at the bar. She brought the mug to her lips yet again, and took a drink, and as she did, her cloak fell behind her back, revealing her upper arm. A golden serpent cuff rested on her bicep. Loki froze, unable to move.

"I know it is you!" He screamed frantically, grabbing onto the table for stability.

Fandral touched his arm, growing increasingly worried.

Loki turned his attention to Fandral, his previous malice seemingly forgotten.

"Don't tell me that you do not see her!"

He pulled Fandral around to face the particular customer he was looking at.

"Sir," Fandral spoke slowly and carefully. "I see no one there."

Fear gripped Loki hard in the gut as the woman finally turned to look at him. Inkeri. She smiled, but her green eyes were so sad. She held her hand out as if to beckon him. Her mouth opened and she whispered his name.

 _Loki._

Loki let out a shaky breath and began to stumble to her, tears burning his eyes. He felt a hand on his arm jerk him back and he was faced with Fandral yet again, his sightline to her broken.

"Sir. Please, let me see you to your house."

Loki grunted and pulled his arm from Fandral. He turned to go to her again, but, the chair was empty. She was gone.

"N-no!" Came a strangled cry from his lips. "No, no, no."

He looked around him, suddenly becoming very aware of his surroundings. They were all looking at him with such pity. He inhaled sharply, wrapping his arms around his upper torso, suddenly disgusted with himself. He looked back to Fandral, who was still staring at him strangely.

"I don't need your help." He hissed, and stumbled out of the pub, into the cool night air.

He began to wobble slowly down the path that led through the middle of the city to the great market, and beyond that, the castle. He had always loved this time of night. It was early morning really. The moons were well past the middle of the sky now.

 _You've always loved the nighttime. The cold is so refreshing to you, my love. I see that now._

Loki winced and grabbed his head, sliding into a nearby bench on the pathway.

"This isn't real." He whispered to himself, gathering his long legs to his chest. "I'm drunk and you're not real."

He sighed with relief when she did not answer him. However, the bench creaked, and he felt the weight of another person bear down upon it.

"My, my. You are in a state your highness."

Loki's head shot up to look at his surprise visitor. An old man peered curiously at him. His eyes were a faded gray-blue, and his hair was long and silver. He wore the clothes of a peasant farmer.

"Excuse me?" He checked his hands, looking to see if the illusion he had put on himself earlier that night was still in place. It was.

The man laughed at him, but not condescendingly. He was clearly amused.

"I said, Odinson, that you are in a real state. Perhaps I should return to you when you have sobered."

Loki stood immediately from the bench, the look on his face a disturbed one. This was obviously no simple farmer.

"Who are you?" He growled at the older man.

The man just chuckled again and patted the seat next to him.

"It is of no consequence who I am, really. But, I assure you, I am a friend."

Loki sat cautiously.

"What do you want, old man? Tell me, or you may not live to see the sun rise."

"So demanding, young prince. It is a good thing that I like you, otherwise I would just leave and not tell you what I know of your precious Inkeri."

Loki's eyes darkened with rage and he stood again, advancing dangerously on the farmer.

"You dare to speak her name, you piece of filth?"

The man continued to speak, not appearing to be rattled in the slightest by Loki's words or demeanor.

"You have heard the stories of the ancient gems have you not? Yes, being a son of Odin, I'm sure you have. Six precious stones whose powers have existed before the universe itself."

Loki stopped and clenched his jaw, regarding the man curiously.

"What of them?" He questioned impertinently.

The man continued. "Six gems, all different, all extremely powerful. I am told that one of them has the ability to grant the user absolute power. Another of them can allow you to even change reality. Quite fascinating, really."

"Get to the point, old man."

The farmer ignored him. "And there is also one, very special gem, an orange chalcedony. This one allows the user to…control time." He raised his eyes and met Loki's. "A person could use this stone to, say, go back in time. Change the past. Why, if you had access to it, you could even save your Inkeri. You could save your friend Kaapo. Tell me, because I am curious, do you even care about what you did to him?"

Loki lunged at the man with a growl, and wrapped his fingers around his neck. He was starting to feel much more sober now.

"You will listen to my questions and speak carefully if you wish to keep your life." His fingers tightened, and the man began to choke, his eyes no longer full of confidence, but fear.

He nodded the best he could. Loki did not loosen his grip any.

"Good, now you will tell me why you are here, and who sent you."

"I was sent by my master to find you." The old man rasped out the best he could.

Loki let go of his neck, and watched as the man coughed and choked, gratefully sucking great gulps of air back into his lungs.

Loki smirked, waiting patiently for the man to continue.

"A-as I said, my master sent me to you. H-he is in possession of the Time Stone." The man coughed again, shaking his head. "He wishes to help you. He will give you the opportunity to get her back."

Loki scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Ah, what a wonderful offer your master has for me. And do tell me, friend, what does he wish in return?"

The farmer smiled slowly. Loki swallowed thickly, suddenly feeling very cold all over.

"He wishes nothing but your happiness, my prince."

Loki reached out, swiftly grabbing the man's neck again.

"And now you try to deceive the Prince of Lies? You are rather dim witted, ancient one."

Much to Loki's dismay, the man's smile did not falter.

"It is true though, he will also need something from you in return. Although it is nothing you can't handle, I'm sure."

Loki let go of him, pushing him back against the bench.

"And what would that be?"

The man shrugged.

"He tells me not of his plans. All I know is that which I have just told you now. Do not worry, he will not collect the debt right away."

 _Loki, don't. It's a bad idea._

His breathing quickened and his eyes widened. He really was slowly going insane.

He turned to the side, murmuring to himself. "Inkeri, not now!"

The man looked at him confused.

Loki snapped back to look at the man, and stepped back slowly, turning to walk away.

"Go home old man and be glad I spared your life. Tell your master that Loki of Asgard is not one to be bribed or bought."

"I told him you would say as much." The man called out from behind him. "Don't worry. When you change your mind, I'll be here."

Loki clenched his fists and turned to respond to the old farmer, but the bench was empty, the spot void of any life except for the early morning wind rustling the leaves on the ground.

He swallowed and rubbed his eyes, wondering if he had imagined this whole encounter as well. Turning back towards the castle, he teleported home and went to his bed, for the first time in days finally falling into a black, dreamless sleep.

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*hmmmmmmm...interesting goings on, are they not? I wonder what I have planned? Heheee. Btw, I know, poor Loki. Please comment if you want. I'm still working a lot, but I'll try to post again within the next week or so. (I gotta make the money so I can pay for our next trip to Disneyland where I plan on mocking Thor when he makes his appearances in the Innovations Building. Try it sometime, it's seriously fun.)As always, thanks for all the support and follows you guys!*


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Dawn broke too quickly that day, sending little annoying beams of sunlight into Loki's chambers that danced around his face, pulling him out of sleep mode and back into reality. He groaned, yanking a pillow up over his throbbing head.

A polite knocking sound came from the direction of his door.

He ignored it and shut his eyes tight, trying to force sleep to claim him once again.

The knocking persisted.

Peering out from under the pillow with bloodshot eyes, he groaned.

"What is it?" He hissed, every word spoken from his mouth grating like nails on a chalkboard.

The confounded noise stopped, however as soon as it did, his door was rudely opened.

One green eye popped open and looked up to see a very disgruntled Eir standing before him, scanning tools in hand.

"So, you've taken to the drink now have you?" She asked, a bit too loudly for his taste.

He glared at her, but he sat up eventually, letting her begin her daily scans and ministrations. He had known the healer his entire life, and he respected her a great deal. Besides, she was one of the few people that he trusted with the knowledge of his…other issues.

"How are you feeling? Aside from that fact that you seem to be experiencing what looks to be an awful _timburmaður_?" She smiled down at him sweetly.

"The only _timburmaður_ here is you, and you may as well be hammering nails into wood with how loudly you are speaking to me." He harrumphed, crossing his arms indignantly.

"I see your wit has not diminished my prince, thank the Norns."

"Are you almost finished?"

She ignored him, slowly running her scanning device back and forth in the air over his body.

"Have you had any strange symptoms? Sharp pains, aches?"

"No." He responded impatiently.

She ran the scanner up to the top of his head, and paused.

"What about hallucinations?"

They locked eyes for a split second.

"No. Perfectly fine." He threw the covers back and rose from the bed. Standing to his full height, he looked down at the woman menacingly.

"I'm the same, cold blooded Jotun prince you've always known, Eir."

She flinched and looked away from him, guiltily.

"So, there's the answer I was looking for. You've known all along. It makes sense, being the head physician and all. Can't have the stolen relic getting ill on us. What if I got so sick that this-"He thrust his arm out violently at her-"this beautiful, pink, _Aesir_ , skin lost the ability to hold its glamour and suddenly turned blue? That's what happened isn't it, when I was ill? That's why all of the servants avoid me even more than usual, and why some of them have mysteriously disappeared?"

Eir took a deep breath. Her eyes darted from his outstretched arm to his face.

"All those summers, as a child, I would be so ill from the heat. Frigga would tell me it was from heat exhaustion, and you would come to me. You wouldn't even ask what was wrong before you began to heal me. You knew exactly what was wrong, because you were in on it the whole time."

He began to clap slowly.

"Well, bravo, my friend. You kept the show running smoothly. I'm sure Odin has quite the reward for your silence."

Eir narrowed her gaze at him, shutting off the device in her hand, and packing it away in the satchel she had hanging at her side. Then, she spoke.

"You were almost dead when they brought you to me, when the king brought you. You hadn't been fed in days, and your skin was burned with the cold. Something I had thought impossible for one of your race. You were such a tiny thing, my guess was that you were only a few days old at most. From what little I knew of the Jotnar physiology, I recognized the house lines that were engraved upon on your skin, and knew that you were royalty. But I never asked any questions. All I needed to do at that moment was work on healing you, saving your life."

Her eyes began to tear slightly, something that Loki had never seen the woman do in all his days.

"We almost lost you, several times. Lack of proper nourishment had begun to affect your organ function. I had never seen the king in such a state, fussing over you, trying to get you to eat when I could not."

Loki scoffed, laughing in disbelief at the thought of the old man ever carrying on in such a way for him.

"You must be joking."

Eir pursed her lips.

"I speak the truth. The look on his face then was the same as the one I witnessed only a few days ago, when he rushed here upon coming out of the Odinsleep to be at your side."

He stopped his laughing then, his disjointed memories turning to the scene that now played constantly over and over again in his mind. Her hands on his chest, the life draining out of her, his father and mother watching on helplessly. And him, in the middle of it all, unable to stop any of it.

He closed his eyes and sighed, wishing desperately that he could burn the images from his head.

"If you begin experiencing any of the symptoms that I mentioned previously, I want you to come and see me immediately." Eir's voice pierced through his vision, mercifully putting an end to it for the moment.

He nodded curtly, and at that, she turned and left him there without another word, closing the door quietly behind her.

As soon as the door closed, he sat back down on the bed wearily and reached over to his night stand, grasping the metal serpent between his fingertips.

He suddenly remembered the odd conversation he had had earlier that morning with the old man on the bench. Whoever he was, he had the ability to see through Loki's disguise, and not many were capable of being so talented. The probability that they really possessed the time stone was low, and if he didn't know any better, it was probably one of Asgard's enemies looking to ensnare him. It was an interesting prospect, though. It really wouldn't be difficult for him to trick the old man and his master into finding out if they really had the thing, and then getting it from them. He would simply promise them a favor in exchange for its use, ask to see proof of it, and then take it with a simple sleight of hand trick while exchanging its image with a duplicate, much like the ones he made of himself. By the time they realized what had happened, he would be long gone, not even in their time frame anymore.

 _You think you're so smart, don't you?_

His lips curled into a smile, and for once he was happy to hear from her.

"Yes." He answered into the air.

 _And that's your problem. Too cocky._

"For a hallucination, you certainly are cheeky, my love."

 _That's because I can say whatever I please and you won't threaten to send me to the guillotine, my darling._

He laughed, not really caring anymore at this point that he was probably insane.

 _I see you found my key._

His face became serious, and his eyes drifted down to the smooth snake in his palm.

"What key?"

But she was silent.

He sat up on the bed, suddenly fully alert.

"Inkeri, what key?" He pressed into the silence.

In answer, however, was not her voice, but another round of knocking coming from his door. By the sound of it, he immediately knew that it was his mother.

"Come." He grumbled, rising from the bed, and tucking the "key" into the pocket of his trousers.

The door creaked open and she stepped inside, walking over to him quickly and taking his face in her hands, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"My son, how do you feel this morning? Eir has just told me that you are healing nicely. She said that your body will be back to normal in no time at all."

Frigga looked at him worriedly, cupping his cheek in her hand, and searching his eyes for signs of things that only a mother seemed to be able to see.

He pulled away from her, and stood back, instantly seeing a look of pain pass across her features. He regretted it instantly.

"I am fine…mother. My body is fine."

She smiled and carefully took his hand in hers, leading him to the couch at the far side of his room so that they could both sit upon it. She held his hand with both of hers then, almost as if she was afraid of what would happen if she ever let go. Loki sighed inwardly. She had been like this ever since his illness, nearly smothering him to death with her motherly love. Nearly losing him had almost been too much for her, and in a way, it comforted him to know that she did love him that much.

"I know that your body is fine, my son, but what of your heart?"

He pulled his hand away then, refusing to look at her.

"I do not wish to speak of it."

Frigga looked at her son sadly, but she respected his wishes and nodded once, changing the subject.

"I have spoken with Heimdallr in secret about your brother."

"Oh, wonderful, just who I wanted to hear about." He growled, but then his curiosity got the best of him, and he turned back to look at his mother.

"Well then, what of Thor? How is he faring on that backwards planet?"

He winced then, thinking of Inkeri and how much she had loved it there. She had told him so many stories of Midgard, especially referring to all of the human friends she had made that she was so fond of.

"Quite well, actually. Heimdallr tells me that he has discovered quite the talent for healing and that he works in the medical field there as a doctor. He goes under the guise of a human named Donald Blake. He lives with the three scientists that had found him upon first arriving."

Loki snorted at the thought of his brother working as a healer of the sick. It was a far cry from the easily antagonized, warrior Thor that he was used to.

"I think that it will prove to be good for him, humbling himself in such a way." Frigga continued.

Loki didn't answer, wishing instead to concentrate on the object that he held in his pocket. A key to what? A locked drawer perhaps? A cabinet with something secret inside? It could be anything. And where? They had told him that the thing had been found in her office at the Ministry, maybe he should start there.

"Your father has been asking about you." Frigga's voice cut through his thoughts like the blade of a knife.

Loki's eyes turned cold.

"Oh, has he now? How lovely of him."

Frigga reached over to place her hand back over the top of her son's, squeezing his fingers.

"He wants to see you, but he thought it best to leave you be. Loki, he does not know how to mend things with you."

Loki stood, suddenly feeling very restless, and clasped his hands behind his back.

"Well, finally something the old man and I are in agreement about."

Frigga looked at him sternly.

"He loves you Loki. He may not express it well, but that is a shortcoming he is trying to overcome."

Loki turned suddenly to look at her, his smile was wide, but his eyes had a dangerous glint to them.

"How sweet of him. I hope all of the effort isn't too taxing to his system. I'm sure he would hate for me to have to become king again."

Frigga's eyes blazed with anger and she stood suddenly and slapped him in the face.

Loki's smile faded, and he put his hand to his throbbing cheek, feeling hot, stinging tears begin to form in his eyes. She had never once hit him, not even when he was a child.

"Don't you ever speak like that about your father again. I thought I was going to lose him forever. I thought I was going to lose you forever."

She covered her face with her hands then, her voice wavering.

"I've already lost one son, and I can't lose you."

She shook her head, keeping her eyes covered, and Loki could tell she was crying. He swallowed and bridged the gap between them, uncertainly wrapping his arms around her. She hugged him back, sobbing quietly into his shoulder.

"Oh, my son." She whispered. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry for all of this."

He closed his eyes and held her, feeling for a brief moment like he was a child again, and she really was his mother. His beautiful mother who smelled like lemon verbena and who kissed his wounds and taught him magic in her gardens. In that moment, she was just his mother and none of the past had ever happened.

"I know." Was all he said.

She pulled away from him, smiling at him weakly, and grasped his arms gently in her hands.

"I love you, you know. We all do."

He didn't answer, preferring to look anywhere but in her eyes at the moment.

She kissed his cheek and pulled away from him, knowing he needed his space.

"I'll check on you tomorrow, if that's alright?"

He nodded and she made her way to the door, but looked back at him.

"I loved her, Loki. She was like a daughter to me. I'm so sorry, I didn't foresee it happening this way."

He didn't say anything, just sat down and looked away from her until he heard the door click shut.

"I loved her too, mother." He whispered, suddenly feeling lighter and more clearheaded than he had in days. "And that's why I'm going to get her back."

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*Howdy y'all! Sorry about the slow uploadings. I've been doing that work thing. (Lame.) Btw, the word at the beginning that Loki and Eir are throwing around-" _timburmaður"_ is Icelandic for "hangover", but it also means "carpenter", hence Loki's little play on words. Just thought it was something fun I could throw in there. Please puhleeeaaasssee comment so I know if you still like it. I'm getting down towards the final parts of this story now. I've been really antsy to start part two for a long time, because I have so many ideas for it, but I just need to finish this part first, lol. Thanks as usual for all of your faves and likes and comments and everything. I'll try to upload the next one sooner :-) Tony Stark out.*


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Forty-seven million light-years away from Midgard, there lay a lone planet in a spiral galaxy that the humans have labeled as Messier 77. The small green rock was far enough out to escape the ever reaching branches of Yggdrasil, untouchable by the Bifrost. It was not so far away, however, that it would be impossible to reach some of the more densely populated star systems by means of a high powered space craft. It was a beautiful jungle planet, full of life and lush, green plants, and flowers.

Visitors to the area had come and gone over the millennia, civilizations rose and fell. An entire species on one of the planet's moons had grown, flourished, and recently had become extinct only a few centuries ago.

And he had seen it all.

The old man stood in the light of the early dawn that was beginning to trickle in through his window. He was so old now. In fact, he contemplated to himself with a chuckle, he really wasn't sure of his age anymore. Oh, he could probably go back and figure it out, but what was the point of worrying about it, really, when you were an immortal being?

He took a step forward, opening the glass door that led out of his tiny kitchen, which belonged to an even tinier house. From there he entered his garden. Calling the area his garden was a bit inaccurate, as the entire planet was really his botanical plaything. But this area was special. He had collected so many plants from so many different worlds. Some of them belonged to planets that were long gone, their stars gone supernova thousands of years ago. He preserved them though, a little admittedly for his own pleasure, and also to serve as a reminder of the past, to honor those cultures and peoples who were no more. The ancient one allowed himself to have a small feeling of pride. If his old friend Taneleer were to have seen this, he would have been deeply impressed. He brushed off the feeling as quickly as it came on, however. Pride always led to selfishness, which in turn led to jealousy, hate, and even violence- something that had been on his mind all too much as of late.

His bright violet eyes scanned a group of Lotus Berthelotii flowers, or parrot's beak as they were called in some lands. Their vivid orange pointed petals stood straight and beautiful in the early morning sun. He stopped his inspection at one of his newest plants, Epipogium Aphyllum- the Ghost Orchid. It was having a harder time thriving than the others, as it needed a certain fungus to feed off of that was giving him quite a bit of trouble to duplicate. Walking to the plant, he knelt down and gently touched it, letting a warm energy consume and heal it.

The old man sighed, his thoughts turning to the future. There was trouble on the horizon, he had known it for many years. He couldn't abide by violence, by bloodshed; but what if it was necessary to end the lives of a few souls to save the many? It was a question that he already knew the answer to, but one that would always bother his conscience nonetheless. Oh, he wished that he could just ignore things, stay here in his peace and quiet, tucked away on his secret planet, his home world, but he knew it to be impossible. He would not ignore the suffering, and he could not let the balance of power shift from the good to the evil. It just wasn't in his nature.

Satisfied for the moment with the condition of the plant, he began to rise, taking care not to trip over his long, grey robes as he stood.

Sensing a presence, he looked back to the door way and smiled gently.

"Well good morning, my dear." He said, retrieving his long walking cane that had been leaning against the side of the house as he approached her.

The girl said nothing, as usual. She generally preferred to watch him silently, especially when he was working with the flowers.

They turned and both walked into the small dwelling.

"Why don't you pour us a cup of tea?" He suggested.

She nodded, pulling cups out of the cupboard, setting them on a tray, and put a kettle of water on to boil.

He watched her work. It had become a daily ritual for the two, the morning tea, and he was going to miss it when she was gone someday. She couldn't stick around forever, after all. No one did, save a select few like himself, he thought sadly.

She began to clean up the dishes from the evening meal that were left out from the night before, while they waited.

He stroked his long grey beard, once again becoming lost in his thoughts. The time was growing near. If only he had a little longer. It was ironic to think that time was the one thing that he had an abundance of, yet really couldn't control at all.

The kettle began to whistle and she swiftly took it off of the stove, pouring the steaming water into the two cups. She then removed a container from the cupboard, and opened it, carefully spooning tea into two small, round metal infusers before plopping them into the water to steep. Then, she slowly brought the tray to the table.

A swift intake of breath came from the girl that interrupted the old gardener's thoughts, and he glanced up to see the usual look of pain that crossed her face, as her hands began to shake, and she plopped the tray down none too gently onto the table, so that she wouldn't drop it.

The girl stood there, staring blankly at her tremoring hands.

"Come here, my dear." He ordered softly.

She came to him obediently, and held out her hands.

Taking both of them in his, the old man closed his eyes in concentration.

The shaking soon stopped, and he let go, opening his eyes to watch her inspect her fingers as the pain disappeared altogether.

"Good as new." He remarked. The episodes seemed to be happening less and less under his watchful eye.

She nodded and sat down opposite of him, taking her tea in hand, while he picked up his.

They both drank in comfortable silence, the gentle smell of flowers and the tinkling songs of birds beginning to fill the house for the day.

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*Thanks for the reviews you guys! This is a bit of a short chapter, I know, but this is a character that I have been so excited to introduce for a long time now. I know I have a lot of vague things and questions to be answered still, but don't worry, everything will become clear soon. Thanks for hangin in there with me. I'm curious if any of you serious Marvel fans out there know who this guy is? :-D...again, thanks for all of your support! Don't worry, the next chapter will feature everyone's favorite green eyed Jotun.*


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

 _The halls glowed eerily bright in the moonlight as he made his way down the great, empty corridors of the palace. There was such an emptiness here. No servants scattered the halls, to greet him with their usual show of respect, their eyes weary of him with a fear that he had instilled in him so long ago. They knew what cruelty he was capable of._

 _He stopped walking suddenly, coming to a door leading to a darkened area of the living quarters he did not seem to recognize. So strange, he thought again, to be here with no one around. Where were his attendants? Something horrible must have happened here._

 _A gust of icy air came from out of the blackness, winding itself around him like a thousand snakes. It was neither comforting nor soothing as it usually was. The chill surrounded him, pounding at his body, needling his skin. There was no overcoming it, so he let it overtake him, as he headed for the darkness._

 _His feet propelled his body outside onto a dark terrace overlooking Asgard. The moons had vanished now, and the stars flickered dimly in the heavens. Walking slowly up to the railing, he inspected the scene in the sky even closer. One by one the stars were extinguishing themselves, blinking slowly for a few seconds and then disappearing completely from existence itself._

 _"_ _Why, if I didn't know any better, I would say that you were shocked, old friend."_

 _He spun around to address the figure behind him, the shining young blonde soldier who smiled at him with those kind eyes._

 _"_ _Kaapo?" He whispered._

 _Kaapo leaned toward him, putting a firm hand upon his shoulder, pushing him back around to face the sky again. His eyes were no longer so kind._

 _He turned his attention away from Kaapo to see that only a few hundred stars were now left._

 _"_ _So surprised, and yet you did this." Kaapo growled menacingly in his ear, the grip on his shoulder nearly becoming painful._

 _He turned to look at him again, but the once bright, lively young man had gone gray in the face. He took a step back and grasped at his stomach, blood seeping through his shirt._

 _He looked down at his wound, then back up again, smiling. "You did this. You brought the end of all things."_

 _Kaapo began to cackle with mad laughter, nearly making a retching noise as he doubled over to clutch the wound on his stomach. He took a deep breath and pulled his head back up slowly._

 _"_ _Would you like to see it? Hmm? Would you like to see all of it, old friend?"_

 _Whether he wanted to see or not, Kaapo pulled him over to the very edge of the railing, nearly pushing him over the balcony to witness the sight below. Sounds of the ill and forsaken began to fill the air, moans and shrill cries of pain, and a stench came forth to his nostrils that nearly caused him to lean over and vomit. Suddenly, he was no longer on the balcony, but on the ground in the center of the city. Bodies littered the streets, and each individual carried the pallor of death, their skin covered in revolting pus filled boils. Most of them were Aesir, but there were other races among them as well- elves, humans, Jotnar, all of them sick and dying._

 _He put a trembling hand to his mouth, as one of them reached out to him, grabbing at his ankle. He stumbled backwards, just out of their reach, accidentally tripping over another one. Their wailing intensified as they saw his face, and the few that could actually still move began to lunge at him. Terrified, he ran out of sight and into a nearby alley way and clutched at the wall, his knuckles white._

 _"_ _I did not do this." He whispered desperately. "Kaapo...please."_

 _"_ _Oh but you did, my son."_

 _He whirled around, and there she was, his mother, grasping at the wall, inching toward him slowly, her breathing labored and her skin just like that of the others._

 _"_ _Mother, no!" He cried, reaching out to grab her, just as she was about to fall to the ground._

 _He pulled her into his arms, and she smiled up at him with all the love she could muster up from her heart._

 _"_ _It is alright, my darling. I am so very proud of you, I always have been."_

 _"_ _I did not do this!" He protested again, but she just closed her eyes and shook her head._

 _He began to cry, then, sinking down to the ground with her as she became a dead weight in his arms._

 _"_ _Mother, please, don't die. I never wanted you to die."_

 _She didn't answer._

 _He sat there for a long time, until the sound of footsteps pulled him out of his misery._

 _"_ _There! There he is! The Destroyer." Came a voice from just outside of his haven._

 _He stood, carefully lying his mother down on the ground. Stealing a glance at her one last time, he looked up to see an angry diseased crowd beginning to advance upon him._

 _He saw everyone he had ever known and even more that he had not. The Warriors Three, Sif, even Thor stood on the front lines, murder in their eyes. At the head of them all was Odin, Gungnir pointed dangerously at him._

 _"_ _I am truly sorry, my son." He called out. "But this has to be done. It seems as if you were never meant to be one of us after all."`_

 _He took a deep breath and retreated deeper into the alley._

 _"_ _Coward!" Yelled Odin. "Come out and face your death like a true son of Asgard."_

 _He held his breath, part of him hoping that they would just finish him off quickly and be done with it. But then he heard a sound that he had never expected to hear ever again._

 _"_ _Loki." Whispered a voice from behind him in the shadows._

 _He closed his eyes and exhaled, afraid to look._

 _"_ _Loki, open your eyes, darling."_

 _He did so, only to find that his body had turned blue again. He held his hands up to his eyes, inspecting himself for a moment._

 _"_ _No!" He yelled, balling them into fists, shutting his eyes again tightly._

 _Two small hands came from behind him in the darkness, pulling him away, hugging him from behind, and suddenly he was gone._

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 _He opened his eyes, and he was back in his bed, away from all of the horror and gore from before. He turned over, and there she was again, her head on the pillow next to him, her eyes smiling kindly._

 _He reached out to touch her cheek, but jerked his hand away, noticing that it was still the same horrible blue._

 _She giggled and grabbed his hand anyway, kissing his palm before bringing it up to her face._

 _"_ _I told you, I like it, but you never listen to me." She scolded him playfully._

 _"_ _The problem is that I don't like it." He responded, never blinking, never taking his eyes off of her._

 _She rolled her eyes and scooted up to him, burying her head in his chest, cocooning herself tightly into his body._

 _He let go of his fear, and wrapped his arms around her then, pressing his lips to the top of her head, suddenly painfully aware of how real this all felt._

 _"_ _I miss you too." She murmured onto the skin of his chest, kissing him gently there._

 _"_ _Inkeri," He closed his eyes for a split second as he spoke her name, "How long can we stay like this?"_

 _She laughed and looked up at him, running her fingers through his hair in the exact maddening, electrifying way that she always used to._

 _"_ _Well, until you wake up, of course."_

 _He sighed and leaned down, finally connecting his lips to hers, pulling her as close to him as possible. The warmth of her lips sent a jolt of energy that passed straight through him from his head all the way down to his toes._

 _She responded in kind, kissing him back deeply, and wrapping her arms around his neck. He held her tightly, afraid that letting go would mean the end of it all._

 _Eventually, she pulled back first, and kissed his nose._

 _"_ _You infuriating man," She chided him, "Distracting me as usual."_

 _He smiled. "No, I think that it's the other way around."_

 _She laughed, and sat up, the warm spot where she lay suddenly growing cold._

 _"_ _Come on, now." She urged him. "There'll be plenty of time for that later. Right now, I wish to show you something."_

 _She got up, beckoning him to follow, so he rose, reaching out and grasping her hand for dear life, terrified that she would disappear on him._

 _They walked slowly through the now bright and golden palace, now void of all of the more disturbing imagery of his recent nightmare._

 _She pulled him out into the gardens, and along the path that led them all the way to the Ministry of Science. Pushing open the large, glass doors of the main entrance, they made their way in, stopping finally when they reached her old office._

 _"_ _Here we go!" She announced gleefully as they entered._

 _Everything looked the same as the last time he saw it, down to the last detail. The little figurine still sat on her desk, the chair was pulled out, holographic projector on._

 _"_ _I haven't come here since, since you left." He admitted._

 _She grinned._

 _"_ _But you found my key." She replied._

 _He looked down and realized that he was suddenly holding the thin golden serpent in his hand._

 _His eyes returned to hers._

 _"_ _Inkeri, what is this for?" He questioned._

 _She didn't answer him, but turned away from him to the wall that her desk was facing. She walked towards it, turning to give him one last smile._

 _"_ _Try not to have any more nightmares, please. It upsets me to see you that way."_

 _He watched her, puzzled, as she turned back and kept walking, disappearing into the wall._

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Loki awoke with a gasp, his heart beating rapidly and his body soaked in sweat. He sat up quickly, throwing the covers off of his bed. Grabbing his simple green tunic and pulling on his boots, he grabbed an object from his night stand, and hurried out the door.

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Eir stood tiredly in the small kitchen of the healer's ward, blowing hot steam off of her mug of tea. All of the other physicians and nurses had long since gone home for the day, finally leaving her to the peace and quiet that she so valued most.

Returning to the main healing room, she set down her tea and pulled up a projection on the hologram table. Loki seemed to be recovering very nicely, but there had been something off about him this morning, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

The scans of his body had been just fine, but his brain was another story. There was something about his brain waves…something not quite right. She expanded the image of his frontal lobe, and paused there. Perhaps she had been going about this the wrong way. There wasn't a problem with the neurons communicating with each other, but they seemed to be amplified, as if they were being overworked ever so slightly.

"Aha." She murmured to herself, not knowing why she hadn't thought to test him in this specific way. Pressing a few buttons on the monitor, the image began to glow purple. She then pulled up another image, a normal scan of his brain from a few years before, when he had wounded himself in battle during a skirmish off world.

Her eyes grew wide. There was no problem with his synaptic functions, in fact they were working all too well.

A shuffling of feet behind her broke her from her research as she looked up to see one of the young nurses, Helka was her name, enter the room.

"My apologies, my lady. I hope I didn't startle you. I've only come back to get my cloak."

The doctor nodded to her and turned back to her screen.

"Is…is that the brain of a telepath?" The young nurse queried, suddenly becoming very interested in her work.

Eir looked back up again, giving her a tight lipped smile.

"Yes, it is. Tell me young Helka, what do you see?" She held out her hand, inviting her to look for a moment, and the girl approached curiously.

"The psionic energy waves are higher than any I have ever seen." She observed.

Eir cocked her head curiously at the image.

"Indeed they are. Very interesting." She responded.

"Who does the image belong to?"

Eir smiled politely, shutting the computer off.

"Unfortunately, I know not. It's only a teaching tool that I found in some of my research files. Thank you for your input. Goodnight my dear. "

Helka nodded and picked up her cloak, quickly scurrying out of the room.

Eir turned back to her console, flipping on the image again. Very interesting, indeed.

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*eek! We're getting so close to the end of this first little novel! I can't believe it...I also can't wait to start writing the second one. Thanks so much for all of your comments of encouragement, it really means a lot, and thanks to those of you that recently followed me. Shoot me a comment or pm if you have any questions!

The next chapter will answer a lot of questions...but may leave you with even more...bwahaha! I'll try to get it up within the next few days.

Sorry if this chapter was kinda gruesome btw, but this is a Loki nightmare we were talking about. I imagined that one of those has to be pretty insane, full of guilt and sadness and disturbing imagery, and Ragnarok-y type things. Alright, I'm done carrying on now. Peace out!*


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

He had been there for _hours._

The sun was beginning to rise high in the sky, peeking through the tall tree tops just outside of the window. Loki leaned back in the wooden chair, his long legs open to steady him, and his elbows resting upon the arms of it. He set his chin onto the tips of his connected fingers, obviously deep in thought.

He had been in her office for _hours_ and there was _nothing_ there.

He carefully picked the serpent key up off of Inkeri's desk and began to twirl it round in his hand. When he had first arrived, he recalled the events of the dream, and the wall that she had disappeared into. He had looked for some secret passage there, some sort of slot or keyhole to insert the key into, but there had been nothing. There was a closet on the wall as well, with something suspicious about it that he couldn't quite put his finger on. He had inspected that thoroughly as well, pushing and prodding the wall inside, even sliding the key over it in various areas. He needed to find whatever it was that she was leading him to. Then, he could proceed with the rest of his plans. He sighed and leaned forward with a grimace. Why did she always have to be so difficult, that woman? She was nothing like the one that the mortals on Earth had invented for him to be with. The goddess Sigyn, the very picture of loyalty and fidelity, submissive and meek, willing to yield to his every whim and also, in the end, willing to commit the ultimate act of self-sacrifice for him. He shuddered at that. The myths told of the goddess Skadi chaining him to a rock while a venomous snake would drip poison into his mouth as a punishment for his mischief. Sigyn supposedly held a bowl over his head to catch the venom and save him from pain. Perhaps he wouldn't mind that so much. Not that the old hag Skadi would dare try anything with him in real life.

He began to throw the key up into the air and catch it in his hand over and over again. No, but his Inkeri, she was the exact opposite of the make-believe Sigyn. She was brash and impulsive, independent and logical, demanding-

"And usually quite clear in what she wants." He finished the thought aloud, catching the key in his hand. "Except for this time of course."

He shifted his weight restlessly to one side and heaved another heavy sigh. She also hadn't appeared to him again since his dream and he felt so…empty. His mind went back to the beginning of the dream. Would it all prove true?

He couldn't just sit here forever.

He rose, making his way towards the door.

"Giving up are we?" Came a voice from behind him.

He smiled and turned, his breath catching in his throat as he took her in. His hallucination, his Inkeri, in frost giantess form, and he was ashamed to admit, she was glorious.

She grinned at the look on his face, and then looked down to admire herself. She was a royal blue from head to toe, covered in delicate markings that ran the length of her body. She wore the arm cuffs and ceremonial cropped frontal coverings and skirt of a warrior princess. Her feet were bare, and she wore a thin band of silver on the middle toe of her right foot. Her ankle also featured a small bracelet of silver, which Loki realized meant that she was bound to a mate.

He licked his lips, and watched her, unable to say much.

"Surprised are you?" She questioned him, her face feigning shock. When he didn't answer her, she stood, a mischievous growl echoing from the depths of her throat. "Well, I don't see how. This is your fantasy, not mine."

He wobbled slightly, before clearing his throat and straightening himself up.

"You've never appeared to me this real before." He furrowed his brow. "Why here, and why now?"

She continued to smile, almost aggravatingly, and began to circle him, the way a shark would hunt its prey.

He ignored her, deliberating out loud. "I know that we were bonded in a way, perhaps telepathically, and that's why these…instances…have been occurring. This apparition of her, of you, that I keep seeing must be some sort of latent imprint of her on my mind, an afterthought of sorts." He concluded.

She stopped her walking, positioning herself directly behind him and staring nonchalantly at her long black pointed finger nails.

"I do not know. You tell me, _eiginmaður._ "

A pained expression crossed his face, and he closed his eyes for a brief moment and exhaled. He could practically feel her icy breath on his neck.

"Don't think I didn't notice." She laughed, lifting her foot up slightly and jingling the anklet.

"So interesting, this particular manifestation of me in your little fantasy."

He sensed her snake around behind him, her voice moving from his right ear to his left. She was beginning to vex him, yet he knew not why.

She continued, finally coming around to stand in front of him, leaning against the wall that ran adjacent to the closet door.

He frowned, growing increasingly more annoyed by the second.

"Stop this madness. You're not her."

She began to cackle, tilting her chin to the sky. Her eyes glowed red with mirth.

"Oh, but I am her, a little piece of her. You said it yourself." She looked at him pointedly, baring her fangs. "You are a monster, Loki, for wanting this, and you know you want it, deep down."

His jaw clenched and his fingers clutched tightly around the little metal key.

She grinned knowingly. "Look at you, you can barely control yourself now. They're like animals, the Jotnar." She began to prance over to the closet door, her fingers tracing squiggly lines along the wall.

His eyes narrowed.

She came around to the entrance of the closet, which was open, and stopped, bracing herself on both sides of the door frame.

"It's good that things never really worked out between us. If I hadn't died healing you, no doubt you would have killed me some other way, like the true savage you are." Her mocking tone began to echo off of the walls.

His hands shook. Why was she doing this to him?

She began to swing herself back and forth in the doorway, then leaned forward, her eyes burning orbs of hate.

 _"Þú ert fífl að trúa því að ég elskaði þig."_

Then she laughed and flung herself backward, disappearing altogether.

"No!" He all but screamed, and in his rage, threw the key at her.

And something unexpected happened.

Instead of sailing through and hitting the wall, it bounced off of the entrance to the doorway, and clattered to the floor. The area inside the closet seemingly rippled for a moment, then returned to normal.

Loki's mouth dropped open, and his wide eyes slowly moved down to the key lying at his feet on the floor, then back up to the closet again. Suddenly he realized what had been so odd about the closet in the first place. While the rest of her office was jam packed with tools and instruments of all kinds, electronics, books, and odds and ends, this space was vacant. There was absolutely nothing inside.

His lips slowly curled upward into a smile.

"Little minx." He whispered, and bent down to pick up the serpent.

Carefully cradling it in his palm, he approached the door, wound his arm back, and hit the key into the air of the door frame with all his might.

That's when he and the world around him vanished completely.

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The Gardner stood up from the tiny sapling he had been tending to. His quiet companion stood faithfully at his side, leaning upon his staff weakly. He looked at her regretfully. He had pushed her too hard today, made her walk too far from the house.

"The tree will grow, child, of that I am sure." He assured her, answering the silent question he saw in her eyes.

She immediately displayed a relieved smile and stared back at the sapling.

He reached out and touched her arm gently, imparting some of his strength to her. She straightened up at once and breathed a sigh of relief.

They began to walk slowly through the woods, back to the little house.

He cleared his throat, for once his treasured silence becoming almost unbearable.

She looked up at him expectantly, taking care not to trample any of the greenery underneath her. He smiled, avoiding her golden gaze and pressed forward. When the soft sandstone bricks of the chimney came into his view, only then did he finally speak.

"It's just about time, my dear."

She stopped walking and looked up at him, the understanding look in her yellow eyes driving the guilt he already felt deep down into his soul.

"Do you understand what you have to do? Where you must go?" He questioned her.

She nodded, and they began to walk back to the house again. The sound of bird song rang out merrily from the tree tops, an ironic contrast to the gravity of The Gardner's thoughts.

"Do you understand why you have to do it?" He whispered, unable to meet her eyes once more.

She gave a tilt of her head, indicating that she did. They approached the door, and he opened it for her, moving aside to let her pass. He sat at the table, and watched her sadly as she began to make the tea.

"I was hoping that things would transpire differently. There was a slight chance of it, you see, but it seems as if everything will happen as I thought after all."

Her back was to him, and she carefully set the tea pot onto the stove. He wondered how much she really understood of it all, or would ever understand.

"No matter." He spoke, more to himself than her, really. "Tomorrow, you will leave at first light."

She slowly set the tea cups down onto the tray and stopped moving, then turned to look at him. Her face was unreadable, but he felt like he must bolster her confidence nonetheless.

"I wish it didn't have to be this way, little one, you know that, but the Agent of Chaos must be stopped."

She turned and retrieved the cream from inside the cooling device and the sugar from the cupboard. The tea kettle began to whistle, so she removed it from the heat, and carried the tray to the table, taking her seat.

The old man sighed, took his cup, and began to absent mindedly fiddle with the spoon in the sugar jar. He was already beginning to miss this time that they shared together like this.

"I know that I've said it many a time before, but I'll say it one more time. All lives must be spared except for those of whom you are being sent to…take. Promise me, child."

She looked up from her tea, and to his surprise, smiled reassuringly. She closed her eyes, and bowed her head briefly before him. The promise was sealed.

"Good. Good, that's very good." He responded, leaning back in his chair, losing himself in his thoughts once more.

The next morning, he sent her off, tears gleaming in his eyes, although he never would have admitted it, for he was far too old to cry about such things. He stood outside in his garden and watched as her small spacecraft rose high in the sky, pushing out of the atmosphere and into the great expanse of stars beyond his world. The only thing left for him to do was to hope. Hope in her, hope in the universe, and hope he had done the right thing.

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Please review! It helps knowing you still like it. We're almost to the end of this story and I can't wait to start on part 2!

Btw, the first thing Inkeri says in Icelandic is "Husband" and the second thing is "I never loved you anyway". Brutal Inkeri is brutal.

Okay, here's hoping it won't take me another freakin month to upload! lol.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"Well, I'll be damned. A pocket universe."

Loki stood stunned on what he now knew to be the other side of a gateway into…his eyes widened in delight. A secret lab. Apparently her research into opening portals had culminated in this. He thought back to her words to him on the fateful day after Thor's coronation with a sad smile, that she was full of ideas. She even had asked him to come here and see some of them. But he hadn't. He had been the cause of the exile of his brother, he had become king, nearly died, and killed the only woman he ever loved. He shook his head to the thoughts. No more of that, now. He would find a way to get her back, no matter what the cost.

He gasped as a burning sensation in his right hand pulled him from his thoughts. Bringing his hand up to his face, he realized that he still held the serpent key in his palm. He tried to drop it on the ground, but it seemed to be bonded to his skin. Taking a closer look, he realized what was happening. The edges of the key slowly began to dissolve into his skin with a yellow energy crackle, then came the middle, until finally the whole thing had disappeared into his hand like a tattoo. Then, it vanished altogether.

"Clever." He remarked, as he turned his hand over, clenching and flexing his fingers.

As he seemingly had absorbed the key, he assumed that this meant that he could come and go from the room now as he pleased. But, just in case this was to be a one-time trip, it was time for a look around. There was a reason her imprint had wanted him to come here, and he needed to find it.

He began a visual inspection of the room, which was no bigger than his bathing chambers, really. To the left of him, monitors lined the wall in many shapes and sizes, all of which were powered down for the moment. Underneath them were four computer panels, partially lit. He moved over to them and touched one. The whole room energized then, and light began to flow into the wall screens. To his right, across the room, there were tables containing tools and various parts of things. There were also three pedestals scattered across that area. They were golden, the bases reaching to about chest level, and the tops of which each contained a different item that was floating inside a stasis field of some sort. In the very center of the room, there was a replication table. So she had been inventing things here-probably the kinds of things that could lead to the questioning of her position in the Ministry. How delightfully devious.

"What exactly have you been up to, my darling?" He wondered.

He was just about to cross the room to analyze the objects, when a blinking message on one of the smaller monitors caught his eye.

 _Prototype testing successful. Do you wish to proceed?_

He looked at it curiously. The time stamp on the screen indicated that the testing had been complete for quite some time. Sadly, he realized, it had been flashing like that since around the time of her death. Gently touching the rune to confirm, he heard a whirring noise coming from the replication table. Stepping over to it, he eyed the objects, as the molecules came together piece by piece, starting from the bottom up. From the nothingness, two round, slim golden wrist cuffs formed. They were open, although they had a delicate hinge and a latch to fasten them securely in place. Loki tilted his head as they took full shape, and as a final touch, an intricate geometric yellow pattern emblazoned itself onto the cuff.

He nearly laughed as the computer made a dinging noise similar to that of a Midgardian cooking device to indicate completion. How he had missed her humor.

Carefully, he picked one up, examining it, and returned to her computer.

"Now," He spoke aloud, "What exactly is this?"

As he couldn't exactly poke through her data files and hold the thing, he pulled it gently around his wrist for safekeeping, noticing how it seemed to accommodate the size of his arm to fit him. Suddenly, the latch automatically shut, and the pattern etched into the gold lit up, shooting a burst of power through his left arm, making him hold onto the panel for stability. Disorienting waves of dizziness washed over him for a brief moment, nearly knocking the wind out of him. He spotted a stool next to the panel and pulled it out, quickly seating himself on it before he fell over. Oh yes, this little device was far more than just a simple piece of jewelry. He reached around to the latch, digging into it with his nails. It seemed to be stuck. He pulled at it harder, but his efforts were in vain. Closing his eyes, he felt around on the device with his free hand, trying a more mental approach to the removal. Wisps of green energy pooled around his fingers as he attempted to power it down.

"Well don't break it! Those took me forever to dream up."

Loki's head shot up from his work. His goddess stood there, no longer Jotun to his relief, leaning on the replication table.

"Bout time you made an appearance." He sighed, holding up his arm, the pain starting to dissipate ever so slightly. "Am I to assume that this is what you wanted me to find?"

She tilted her head to one side, frowning with disapproval.

"You weren't supposed to put it on. How do you feel?" She bounded over to him, grinning like a Cheshire cat and peeking at his arm. "I can tell you that I feel loads better."

He raised an eyebrow and shook his arm out a bit.

"I feel, well actually, come to think of it, I feel much more clear-headed than I have in days." He answered her.

"Hmm. Fascinating. I suppose if it could work for you, then it could work for me, or rather, if it could work for me then it would work for you, or both of us, or anybody." She responded thoughtfully, dancing around him in a daze. She stopped, and looked at him very seriously.

"Or maybe not even anyone at all!" She finished, letting her features sink into an wide grin.

Loki pursed his lips, barely able to hide his smile.

"I don't remember you being this chaotic, darling, not that I am complaining, of course."

"Oh? Are you certain, love? I've always been this way."

He thought back to the very first time they had joined minds, on the terrace in the palace. It felt like forever ago. Hers had been so jumbled, a nearly blinding mess of color and images. On that night, she had been mischievous, and he had _liked_ it. But then, shortly thereafter, she saw his dark side that he usually kept so well hidden. She saw what he was, knew ever since that night in the gardens. He wondered if she had put this piece of herself aside, to be strong for him. To help him. Perhaps there was a great downside to the mental connection they had shared.

He looked up to realize that she had moved right in front of his face and was nodding vehemently.

"Spot on you are! Now cheer up, you gormless loon. I am full of beans. I speak English very well!" She confirmed in the Earth language.

Loki chuckled and watched her, his eyes shining with a bittersweet mirth. Did he ruin everyone he came into contact with? He mused sadly.

She laughed, skipping over to the other side of the room and began poking things here and there, examining the tables.

"Oh, my, I had almost forgotten this little goodie." She centered in on one of the items floating steadily in the stasis field, appraising it up and down, before she turned to look at him again.

Noticing his expression, she crossed the room to kneel in front of him, gazing into his emerald eyes.

"Do not look so sad _elskan mín._ " She cooed at him. "Like I told you, I feel better than I have in a long time."

He cleared his throat and looked away. Oh how he wanted to touch her, to hold her once more.

"You still haven't told me what these bracelets do." He whispered.

Inkeri smiled softly and turned her head to meet his gaze again.

"It was a simple design, started very shortly after the death of our dear Kaapo." She began. "They are small, yet efficient, meant to stabilize my unharnessed energy."

He furrowed his brow.

"To keep you from dying, if you were to fully heal and regenerate someone, you mean?"

She nodded once and continued. "One is made for the body, and the other is for the mind. One regulates brain waves, the other physical energy. You see, after the incident with Kaapo, I wondered why it took me so little time to recover- only a night's sleep really. I found that the energy I used for my healing ability was nearly limitless, however, greatly unstable. It could be like the small flame of a candle, useful in nature, serving to light up a room, but when said candle is tipped over..." She made the motion with her hand.

"The whole house burns down." Loki finished for her.

"Yes!" She replied, standing up to pace the room slowly. "The power would never diminish like I had thought originally, draining out of me like water out of a leaky tub. Rather, the power would ultimately consume me, until there was nothing left. At least, I think that's what happened. My memories of the last moments are quite foggy."

"Yes," He murmured, wishing he could forget the sight of her bursting into a million golden pieces. "It was something like that."

"So, the cuffs regulate the so called 'fire'. They keep it at bay, so that my power is neither the candle, nor the house gone up in smoke. Instead, it falls in between, becoming more like the roaring fire of the hearth. Not too gentle, not too strong. It would circulate within me as a never-ending source of energy. That is, unless I die. Then the whole thing would be pointless. Oh, sorry, too soon?" She smiled, laughing at her own joke.

He grimaced, turning away from her. She came around in front of him, attempting to look somber.

"Sorry, love. Anyhow, the bracelet that you happen to be wearing would have been linked to my mind."

"Which is why you've become less cryptic? Why you seem so much more real now? The bracelet serves as a sort of regulator to the part of you which resides within my mind?" He questioned.

"I was always real. I'm an imprint remember? A collection of memories and feelings. Or did you get silly and think I was a ghost?"

He grinned. "Maybe I did, just for a little while. So, I suppose this little piece of you will always be with me?"

She shrugged in response. "I suppose so, now that you wear the bracelet, otherwise it would eventually fade away."

"But I will see you again."

Inkeri frowned. "I know what you're planning to do, Loki, and it doesn't bode well."

"And what other choice have I got?" He commanded.

"You can let the past be."

"I cannot!" He roared causing her to jump. Upon seeing her fear, he softened a little. "You, the hope of seeing you again, those are the only things I have holding me together anymore."

"So you mean to accept the offer of use of an ancient gem that controls the flow of time from some crazy old farmer whom you met while you were full of mead? Come on, sweet. The Loki I knew was much better at planning than that. Well, there was that whole vault incident…" She trailed off.

He sighed. "I'll be careful. If he doesn't have it, then I won't stop searching until I find it, or some other means of bringing you back. No matter how long it takes me, or how I must pay. What else am I to do? Sit around and play my part as a spoilage of war to the good Allfather Odin? Be a good little prince and sit in court all day serving under Thor, whenever he figures out how to get back into Odin's good graces, advising the people on this trivial matter and that one? If you know me at all, you know I could never accept that life."

"I know." She sighed, defeated. "Just please be careful."

"I promise you, I will."

"There is a problem to consider, aside from your haphazard plan to get the gem. From what we know about all of the old stones, they are extremely powerful, dynamic and unstable. They were hidden away for a reason. There will be a high price to pay for using one of them." She warned.

Loki nodded. "I believe I can control it, if I am cautious. I promise I won't do anything rash. It needs to be studied thoroughly before use."

"And if you find it to be too dangerous to use?"

He smiled his most charming smile. "Then I will find another way."

Inkeri laughed. "God of Mischief, God of Lies. I wish I could believe you. That reminds me, it's a pity I wasn't around long enough to receive my official Goddess title. I wonder what old One Eye would've given me. I can call him that, as I am dead."

Loki shook his head, grinning ever so slightly. "I know you're trying to stall me darling, and it's not working. But if you must speculate, perhaps Goddess of Mirth, Inventions, and Silly Jokes?"

She put two fingers to her chin, as if she were actually deep in thought. "I think I quite like that! Well, if you must go, then go. You can come and go here in this lab as you please. I also believe that now that you possess the bracelet that regulates the mind, you will be able to speak with me only when you wish. But remember, only you can see me, so don't go walking around talking to yourself."

He nodded, and took one last look at her.

"Goodbye, love." He whispered, willing her into the back of his mind. She smiled, and disappeared.

He took one more look around the lab. He'd have to spend more time here later, but right now, he had places to be. He turned, about to open the door back into her office, when he noticed an odd rippling on the wall on the other side of the room.

What was this? Another doorway perhaps?

Making his way to it, he touched the wall gently. The rippling grew stronger, before it finally vanished altogether, confirming Loki's suspicions. A normal looking door, identical to the one he had come through, appeared in front of him.

Unable to hold back his curiosity, he opened it, and stepped through into a darkened room. He stood there for a moment, letting his eyes adjust. He did not know what time it was, nor if time had flowed at a different rate inside of her pocket universe. He noticed a window, covered by a heavy curtain, and carefully made his way to it, pulling back the cloth to let the moons shine in. Turning, he observed his surroundings and immediately knew exactly where he was. Inkeri's bedroom. She must have used another closet to make a backup entrance and exit to the lab.

He walked slowly over to the bed, running his hand along the comforter. Her parents had kept everything the same. Perhaps in some way, they also hoped she would return to them as well.

Letting out a breath, he turned to the window, and closed his eyes, teleporting away in a swirl of green.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Dawn was breaking over the horizon. Just as two moons slid from the night sky, making way for the coming Asgardian sun, two figures slid through the semi darkness. The first, tall and lithe, strode with a purpose towards the center of the city. He was Loki of Asgard. No. Formally of Asgard. He had no home. He was the God of Mischief, Lies and Chaos. He was the Future Destroyer, intent on resurrecting the past.

On the opposite end of the city, the second figure knelt high on a roof top, steeled against the early morning wind. Black cloak swirling around her legs, she slowly stood, setting a determined gaze on her destination. Reaching to her head, she slid off her hood, revealing long white hair and pale yellow eyes. She could sense the target, there, in close proximity. But now was not the time. The reckoning would come soon enough.

Taking a deep breath, the girl began to run.

As one foot crossed in front of the other, faster and faster she flew. The world around her hummed, and she became nothing but a blur in the sky, skipping across the gaps between rooftops with all of the grace and eloquence of a feline. Looming in front of her, a precipice quickly approached, too large to jump. A slight smirk drew up the corner of her lips as she barreled to it, leaping high into the air and disappearing into a fine mist, reenergizing effortlessly on the other side. She stopped, turning to observe the great distance from which she had leapt. The smirk returned, even if only for the briefest of moments.

Her hands began to twitch at her sides. She held them up in front of her. The trembling would begin again soon, as it always did, and The Gardener would not be here to look after her this time. Spinning around quickly, she resumed her sprint across the rooftops. It was a glorious thing to behold, as every few seconds her body would evanesce into a golden mist on one side only to reappear on the other.

After a short time, she finally stopped, landing softly on one house in particular. Kneeling again, she caught her breath, and reached to her sides, clutching at the matching blades that hung at each of her hips. Carefully, she unsheathed them both, inspecting them. The two blades were the color of obsidian, from tip to hilt. One was a short sword, with a thick grip that featured a silver swirling pattern like dragon's breath etched onto the black steel. The other weapon was a longer blade with a thinner hilt, jagged edges running down its sides. Both swords curved inward and then outward into a wicked sharp point, the same swirling pattern decorating both of the blades. The old man had given them to her, taught her how to use them. Told her they were nearly as old as time itself. She sheathed the long sword and turned the short one over in her hand. There had been a matching bow as well, that now sat in her little shuttle pod. She would use them all one day. She would do whatever it took to make sure the threat was eliminated. It was her mission. Her gaze drifted down to the rooftop of the little house underneath her feet, reminding her for the second time that she must do something else first.

Replacing the short sword into its holder, the girl laid her small hand on the roof tiles. She took a deep breath. She could feel them in there, a man and a woman, still sleeping peacefully inside. She would have to be careful.

This was the part of the mission that made the least sense to her. The part where she was supposed to steal. The old man, he had told her that to steal was wrong. Just this once, however, it would be alright. He had said with a sad smile that it was better if she didn't know any of the details. It was something he had repeated to her often.

She broke from her thoughts. The people were beginning to stir. She had dawdled too long and would have to hurry now.

Carefully she made her way to the edge of the roof to a room on the other side of the house that was uninhabited. Diagonal and across from where the people would be, that's how the old man had explained it. He had even touched her forehead and put the picture there. It had made her uncomfortable when he did that, filled her with a sadness and longing, and she did not know why. She never told him this of course, but after that she was wary to let him look into her mind again.

Peering down, she saw the window, her entryway into the dwelling. Laying down on her belly, she reached down to touch the glass, thinking about opening it like she had been instructed. She didn't think she could do it, but he had told her that she was special, that she was born that way. She could do many things. The girl let out a breath as the window pane slid outwards and then moved aside with effortless ease. She allowed herself a grin before swinging over the ledge and through the curtains, landing softly on the floor in a crouch.

They were waking up, the people on the other side of the house, she could feel it. It was alright. She would be gone before they even knew.

She began to straighten herself to stand, but the tremors began to wrack her body again. She froze, wrapping her arms around her knees as she shook from head to toe. She should not have teleported. It took too much out of her. The Gardener told her as much, but she had not listened. He told her if she did not hurry, that she would be lost, and it would take him considerable effort to find her again. By then it would be too late. Her teeth began to chatter and she gripped her legs and leaned back into the wall in an effort to calm herself. If she was too loud, they would hear her.

She took a deep calming breath and attempted to focus on keeping it together. She was so close now, and she would not fail.

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He was there. The old man was actually there. Sat on the same bench in the same clothes as before. Cackling and carrying on he was, mouth showcasing black, toothless gums, his eyes bulging from the exertion.

He was even more infuriating than before.

Oh how Loki wished to strangle the old fool. But he was a means to an end, and therefore needed to be manipulated just so. Because of this, he approached, standing before him, and nodded as politely as he could.

"The son of Odin has returned! And in normal form, this time. No more parading about among the commoners are we?" He coughed out, eyes watering. "Of course, I have seen it, by means of my master. Nothing in past present or future is unnoticed to the one who holds the gem of time."

Loki grit his teeth.

"And tell me old man, what have you seen of my future?"

Almost immediately, the laughing ceased, and the old vagrant shut his mouth, pressing his lips into a tight, knowing smirk.

"I think we all know what is in store for you, Odinson. 'Thou who shalt bring about the end of all things'." He stood from the bench, coming far too close for comfort to the prince's face, his next words causing Loki to shiver in disgust and something akin to horror.

"Destroyer of Worlds you are."

Loki swallowed, trying desperately to keep composure, and took a step back, his eyes blazing.

The old man chuckled.

"But that's not why you're 'ere, though, is it princeling?" The farmer began to circle him slowly, appraising him in the most mocking fashion.

"No, no. Today, we are here for the most noble of causes. To save the ones we love and make sure all is right again."

Loki's hands clenched and unclenched at his sides, but he stayed silent, letting the wretch look him up and down, until he came back around to his face.

"Yes." He finally answered.

The other man smirked at that.

"Yes what?"

Loki's jaw clenched.

"Yes, I come to beg your master use of the gem, so that I may change the past."

The old farmer nodded with as much feigned seriousness as possible.

"It comes with a price, you know. Do you not wish to inquire of what he will ask of you in return?"

Loki tilted his chin up proudly.

"I will pay the price, whatever that may be."

A hearty laugh bubbled up from the old man's belly.

"You are stupid and ambitious, however, it is admirable."

Loki's eyes glinted dangerously. He was growing tired of this game. "And where is this master that you keep speaking of? I'm starting to wonder if he even exists at all."

"Oh, do not fret, young one. I will take you to him."

Loki nodded. "Then let us waste no more time. It is beginning to grow light out already."

The old man tilted his head in agreement and began to turn before Loki stopped him.

"I never asked, what am I to call you, and what is the name of your master?"

The man's lips curled into a sneer.

"I am called many things, my son. But you may call me by my given name, which is Corvus. Corvus Glaive." He tilted his head amusedly. "And as for the name of my master, you will find out soon enough."

Loki eyed him wearily.

"Corvus Glaive is not an Asgardian name, and yet you take an Asgardian appearance."

Corvus' sneer grew ever wider as he leaned forward, gripping Loki by the shirt with an alarming amount of strength. He leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"It is odd to me, as well, that Loki Laufeyson is not an Asgardian name, and yet you also take an Asgardian appearance."

Loki grew cold as Corvus pushed him away none too gently and swiftly turned again. He waved his hand and a portal appeared, black and shimmering in the air.

"Shall we?" He motioned.

Loki gulped and turned to look back to the palace, his home for the past thousand years, glittering in the distance, touched by the sun's first rays of light.

"Is the prince afraid? Or feeling wistful, perhaps? I'm sure you were not expecting my master to be residing anywhere other than Asgard." Corvus chuckled.

Loki's head snapped back to address him.

"I assure you, I am not the type to give in to such feelings."

"Of course, of course." Corvus answered with a smirk. "However, just in case one of those feelings may unexpectedly arise into your fickle little chest, have no fear! I will leave the portal open, so that you may come and go as you wish. You have my word as a gentleman."

Loki furrowed his brow and turned his gaze to the portal. The man did not lie, that much he could tell.

"Then let us go."

Corvus nodded and gestured toward the gaping hole. "After you my darling."

Loki took a deep breath, and stepped through, Corvus following shortly after him.

He looked around curiously. Their destination appeared to be some sort of desolate asteroid in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but grey rock, black space, and stars reached out as far as the eye could see.

Corvus motioned to the portal.

"As promised, it stays open for you."

Loki nodded. "Then take me to your master."

A gnarled old finger came up to point to something in the distance that Loki had not noticed before. A set of blue lit stairs protruding from the rock mass itself, leading and disappearing up into a hilly crag.

"There he awaits you."

Loki took a deep breath, alarm bells shooting off a warning in his brain, causing a tingle that ran from his head all the way down to his toes. Something was not right here. He took a glance at the portal. It was still open. He could escape if need be. He had come too far to pull out now. Proceeding with extreme caution, he began to climb the tall steps, Corvus behind him the whole way. After the two had climbed for many minutes, the stairs curved severely into the rock face, and then evened out, leading them to a cliff. At the very edge, there floated a rocky throne, which held a large being, his back to them both.

Corvus pushed Loki ahead.

"Well, go on then. Address my master."

Loki looked from Corvus to the figure on the throne as his intuition screamed at him for the whole wrongness of it all. Ignoring it, he straightened his posture and called out to the being.

"I am Loki, Prince of Asgard. I have come to seek assistance."

The creature began to laugh, a deep, bone chilling sound.

Summoning courage, Loki pressed him further.

"Have you no respect, sir that you cannot even turn to introduce yourself to me?"

At that, Corvus' laughing joined the creature's, as the throne began to turn slowly. Loki was so transfixed on the sight before him, that he barely managed to noticed the transformation of his companion at his side, into something very un-Asgardian indeed.

The amethyst skinned being on the throne finally revealed himself, causing Loki's heart to stutter in his chest.

He leaned forward, holding out his giant hand and freezing him in place, his piercing red eyes boring straight into emerald green ones.

In that moment, Loki knew that he had made the ultimate mistake.

The now grey skinned alien at his side pushed him to his knees before the giant.

Their laughing ceased and the creature smiled before finally speaking.

"Well, Loki of Asgard, I suppose I should tell you my name. I am Thanos of Titan. Welcome to my domain."

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The girl opened her eyes, still crouching against the wall. The shaking had ended for now.

Rising, she moved through the room, pushing towards her goal. To her right was a door. Creeping stealthily up to it, she opened it as quietly as possible, stepping inside.

The room that she had entered lit up with a dull glow, the electronics inside powering up at her mere presence.

Her eyes scanned the room for the intended object. She was to take that and nothing else. Finally she spotted it, on one of the tables, golden and gleaming. She moved to the thing and grabbed it greedily, equipping it to her arm immediately. A pulse shot through her, nearly causing her to stumble. She reached out and grabbed onto a nearby chair to steady herself. Thankfully, the feeling stopped as soon as it had started and she stood upright, holding her hands steadily out in front of her. The tremors which had affected her since she had been brought to this consciousness had finally stopped. She felt whole, complete.

She felt strong.

She let out a relieved sigh, turning back to the door she had come through. It was finally time. The moment she had been waiting for, her one true goal in this life. And then she would have peace.

Crossing the space, the girl opened the door quietly, stepping over the threshold into the next room. The window was in sight. Creeping over to it, she froze suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck rising.

She was not alone.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my little girl's room?" Spoke a frightened woman behind her.

The girl sighed. This was not supposed to happen. No one was to see her, and now she had to deal with it.

She put her hand to the hilt of her sword, and turning slowly and menacingly, she locked eyes with the woman that had until now only seen her back.

In that moment, time seemed to still.

The woman paled and began to tremble, hands reaching up to clasp her mouth. She let out a noise halfway between a sob and a gasp.

The girl stilled, but kept her hand on the sword, a confusing feeling familiarity flooding through her as she regarded the person in front of her.

The woman shook her head in disbelief, unshed tears beginning to form in her eyes. She took a hand from her mouth and reached out toward the girl.

Immediately, she tightened her hand around her sword in warning and took a step back toward the window.

"Please, please don't go." Whispered the woman.

The girl turned and continued her journey to exit the house. She was not cruel, and for whatever reason felt compelled to spare this woman's life.

One word from the woman stopped her in her tracks.

"Inkeri."

Disoriented, she spun and took one last look at the strange woman, an odd feeling clawing at her chest.

"It is you." Affirmed the woman.

The girl cocked her head and furrowed her brow. The other inhabitant of the house was near, the man, she could feel it.

Pursing her lips, she took one last look at the woman and disappeared into a fine mist.

Reappearing on the roof, she crouched, her right hand on the tiles, inspecting the new golden cuff that she had stolen on her arm. Perhaps she had not really stolen it at all. Perhaps it was actually hers.

She directed her mind back to the ones inside. The woman was distraught, and the man- her husband was attempting to comfort her. An unfortunate occurrence that she had no time to process. It was time to bring the offender to justice before all was lost. Standing, she closed her eyes and reached out, trying to feel him as she had before.

But he was gone.

She opened her eyes in shock. She had taken too long, but no matter, she would find him again. The Ragnarok bringer and Destroyer of the Universe, the man known as Loki of Asgard would be put to death by her hand. She was sure of that.

She would wait however long it took.

She would be ready.

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The end…for now.

A/N- So this is the end of story number one. I sincerely hope you all liked it, and I want to thank all of you who have followed and faved and commented since I started posting this in June of 2015. I know that this ended on quite a cliffhanger, so if you have any questions, please comment, and if there are enough of them, perhaps I can do one more chapter of Q & A to answer them?

I'm probably going to be updating this story a few more times, as I've never really written something like this before, so I'm going back to edit it for consistency and to get rid of cheesy things, haha.

Again, thank you so, so much for all of your support and I do hope you read the second novel when I start posting it.


	29. UPDATE

Hey guys! Sssssooooooo if you're interested, part 2 chapter 1 of the Science of Magic is going up now!

Thank you for all of your wonderful comments and support. I am truly grateful to everyone who has encouraged me on this.


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